Grin the Reaper
by Deadi1025
Summary: A new player who's shrouded in mystery soon arrives in Roanapur with a penchant for death and slaughter. How will his presence affect the people around him in the city of the dead? Rated M for mature. OC. First story
1. The Red Ship

It was a sunny day out in the South China Sea as a ship went about its way across the waves. It was an old small passenger ship that carried various characters to their respected coasts and travel hubs.

Islands dot the horizon and showcased palm trees and the usual sights that appeal to tourists and travellers. And indeed it did for the sightseers and couldn't get enough of the views and invested many of it in their photos, and each other. The heat didn't trouble them at all nor did the sunset that appeared in the horizon and the night stars that shone. It was a marvelous sight for the passengers in the ship. It made a simple trip around the sea interesting for all.

The same couldn't be said for Jho. He was your regular and mediocre Asian man doing his job as a janitor with a small temper. He disliked working in the ship and its endless toiling. He disliked the captain, the working conditions, the lifestyle serving the distasteful passengers and most of all he hated the passengers themselves!

It was all unbearable for him yes but he had no say in it. It was the only job he could do despite it being a dead end. Despite it was though he wanted more out of his life. A life of wealth, excitement and adventure the most. What he got instead was a low paying job, crappy guests and a pile of shit waiting for him in the bathroom areas.

"This blows." He said after cleaning up some bastard's puke off the deck. "Another boring day in a boring ship. Nothing ever happens here."

It took an effort for him not to hurl himself after spending about an hour cleaning it and taking out the scent. He threw the mop to the floor afterwards and began smoking by the railings. Darkness came then some city's lights soon popped up beyond the horizon miles away.

"That must be Roanapur. Glad we aint passing there."

Truth be told that was the only few good things he had throughout the trip. He's heard of what kind of city Roanapur was. It was hell on earth with no laws and death at every corner. The moment a guy steps foot there he grows a new asshole.

"Wouldn't be caught dead in that place. Not in a million yea-"

A sight then caught his eye and made him drop his cigarette and gave him a fearful shiver. As dark as the sea was at that hour, he couldn't help but see silhouettes of men that were climbing the ship from their small boats. There were dozens of them and saw them sneak about all over the ship like ghosts. Jho was terrified and speechless. He hid immediately behind some cargo but not without seeing the chaos that began.

They were armed with shotguns, six-shooters and rusty blades that were laughable at most but were as terrifying as the masked men who wield them. Passengers were then pulled from their rooms in haste and followed the pirate's demands in fear. They were gathering them to the ship's main deck where they were rounded up and took their valuables at gunpoint shouting while doing it.

Jho saw some of them going far as to grope and rape the women and children in corners. He didn't see any but the sounds they made as they cried and screamed their lungs out. It was a nightmare. As atrocious as it all was it wouldn't compare to what came next.

One of the men started to wrestle the pirate leader for his gun and when the shots were fired, all hell broke loose. People ran in chaos trampling each other and running away from the scene. The Pirates, whilst outnumbered were armed and shot and stabbed indiscriminately at the mob. Some tried fighting them off but were butchered all the same. Red soon colored the deck and the pirates chased and shot the rest into the confines of the ship and threw others overboard.

Jho who was hiding in the sidelines hurled his guts out after seeing the carnage. He couldn't take it anymore! He got up and ran away from the crowd and the slaughter.

_I have to get out of here...Oh, _he thought. _This is some fucked up shit that's goin on here! _

He hardly ran a few feet from where he was when he collided with one of the passengers. The fat fuck fell on top of him suffocating him with the bastard's sweat and tears.

"Help me! God Damn it! Get me out of here!" he cried

"Help yourself fugly! Get off!" Jho replied

But the man couldn't. The man's obesity was the death of him. He was shot multiple times all over and couldn't move without feeling the bullets piercing his flesh. He was trapped. They both were.

They struggled with each other and unbeknownst to them one of the pirates saw them and made his way towards them loading his pistol as he walked. Jho was panicking and struggled ever so more to get away. His leg was trapped as well as his life. The pirate steadily walks on his weapon at the ready aimed towards them, the sight of which made Jho close his eyes waiting for his death. He didn't want to die just yet.

The pirate began firing, his bullets hitting his mark. The fat man yelled at Jho's ear after every blast covering his face with blood as well blurring him of his vision but blocked him from the onslaught. As he laid there untouched, he felt lucky that he wasn't hit.

_I'm alive! Hahaha! Thanks fat ass! I'm-"_Ooof!"

He was stepped on by the pirate with the pistol and all happiness disappeared from Jho's face as he went eye to eye at the barrel of the gun.

"Not so lucky anymore are ya punk?" the man said with a grin

* * *

"Fuck! Bastard got blood all over my shoes!" The pirate shouted at the corpse after shooting it.

"That's what you get for showing off Yuda. You wanna look cool and you end up with shit" The second pirate Chon said as he saw his friend's work. "Never knew you for an Eastwood fan."

"Shut up haha! I technically did the prick a favor. It was either that or he gets crushed by that fatass."

"Hahahaha! Yea! Jokes aside the boss man wants us to go to the cargo hold and look for the rest of the goods. The others will handle the rest up here."

"Still pissing yourself at the sight of blood huh? You never learn." Yuda mocked. "Let's go then. Somebody's gotta watch your ass down there."

The second pirate didn't answer and just shrugged off the comment with a finger. Walked down the corridors and met up with the boss. He was a grizzled old veteran with the scars to prove it and an attitude that could ruin any day. With him are 2 other guys, one was a Youngblood, a fresh recruit with hardly any experience; the other was just another forgettable face.

"Let's go now ladies. We gotta get in and out fast before the feds arrive." The old man barked

"Don't worry about it gramps. No cop will be out this late in the middle of the fucking ocean in the fucking dark." Yuda replied mockingly

"They will after that gunshow we just pulled off. Now we have the rest of the guys killing em off."

"You mean the gunshow YOU started pops?"

"Piss off prick. Before I chop you off and shove it up your ass." The veteran said. Both men had their hands on their weapons with tensions rising for all of them.

"It didn't have to be this way. I didn't want to kill anyone" the youngest of the group said breaking the tension between the two.

"Yea. But then again they were idiots. Some of them wanted to be heroes and look where that got them." Yuda replied.

"Still though, do we have to kill everybody?"

"Do you want them to rat us all out to the cops? I aint doing jail time again. I'm not saying that I'm proud in doing this but I got to. This could be our lucky break and I aint having a tourist or a fucking rookie to take that away from me. Now let's do what we came here to do. And not a word out of you, you little spitfuck" the old man pointed at the hothead Yuda

They said nothing more as they went their way to the main cargo hold. A few gunshots were heard echoing through the walls and a few seconds of struggling before making the halls a lot quieter. The 5 men who walked on saw the lower decks clean and bloodless as compared to the upper deck.

"Nobody must have made it this far huh? No problems then" one of them said

"Stay on your toes though. You'll never know."

They soon arrived to their target as they met a big iron door. It took them a while to open but fortunately for them 5 men was more than enough to make it budge. As soon as they opened it they were met by surprise and shock to what they found inside. Yes there saw large amounts of baggage and crates with who knows what goods it contained. But what took most of their attention was the strange person that rested between it all.

The man had short messy hair and medium muscled build. He was wearing a long sleeved jacket with gloves, blue jeans, and heavy boots. What they hadn't noticed as they got closer to it was that he was wearing some sort of gas mask that covered the lower part of his face. It also had a black bandanna that's tied along his left eye. The pirates also felt a strong and sinister aura surrounding the figure and unsheathed their weapons at the ready but were hesitant to come any closer.

"Go check it out rookie."

The young pirate slowly went closer to the figure with his rusty machete pointed forward. He was careful at his step as the others followed behind uncertain if the figure was a corpse or a threat. The rookie got close enough to the man by a few inches he saw a scratched out figure of a skull by the man's covered left eye.

"Is he alive rookie?" The old pirate asked.

The rookie came closer face to face to the man and saw faint mists that started flowing out of the man. As the rookie looked on he was startled to see the man's right eye suddenly open and looked him straight at his face!

"He's-erk!" the rookie choked out before the figure grabbed him by the neck and broke his neck.

"Fuckin kill him!" The oldest pirate yelled and began blasting the figure with lead. The others did the same but the man used the rookie's corpse as a shield and it took the brunt of the barrage as he charged forward towards them.

The masked man grabbed the kid's machete with his free hand and slashed the nearest pirate in the face decapitating him with one blow. Blood spurted out of him like a fountain stunning the other 3 men in shock, disgust and blinding them temporarily with the blood. He took advantage of it and threw the kid to the oldest and then stabbed impaled him with the corpse on the wall like a work of art.

"That's it! I'm out of here!" the second pirate yelled and started running out of the room dropping his weapons along the way.

The first pirate though held his ground and laughed at the carnage that was in front of him. He dropped his pistol and took out a large rusty machete and readied himself for a fight.

"You're pretty good man. I always wanted a challenge." he joked as the masked man looked on.

The figure said not a word. His silence scared the pirate a little bit. His hands began shaking and his breathing quickened. He then saw that the man looked at him with a bored expression. The masked man didn't see him as much of a threat!

"Motherfucker! I'll show you who's worthless!" The pirate yelled as he charged forward.

The masked man's eyes remain unchanged as he saw the idiot running towards him. Brave were the pirate's words but fear betrayed him which made his movements sloppy. The moment the pirate slashed at him with all his strength the masked man blocked it with his left arm and shattered the blade from the impact.

The pirate staggered in disbelief was immediately lifted off the ground and was immediately cut open by the masked man's Bowie knife that he unsheathed from his jacket. The man remained silent as he gutted the pirate while the latter screamed in pain and was afterwards dropped to the floor left to die.

"Looks like I still got it." The man said as he watched the pirate bleed to death. His voice sounded ominous with the mask as it echoed about the room. He then took a moment to collect himself. He breathed slowly letting the painkiller laced gas from his mask imbued his system and eased him up a bit from all the excitement.

"That was a good nap." He yawned feeling a bit woozy due to the surprising turn of events and stretched out his back "It's a shame that it ended so soon. I wouldn't mind the work out."

It wasn't long when more faint gunshots and more screaming broke his concentration and caught his attention.

"Well speak of the devil." He grinned under his mask. Taking his knife he then made his way topside excited for what would be waiting for him up there.

* * *

Chon ran for what seemed like hours after seeing that beast rip through his friends. He ran away with no regrets of leaving his friend behind to deal with that freak alone. That guy was a maniac. They both were. Chon had high hopes that they'll kill each other in the end.

Chon then fell to the ground and puked heavily to the floor. It was all too much for him. It was all too unreal for him. What that thing did was impossible. He tried wiping the blood off of his hands but couldn't. Tears started falling from his eyes as he stressed to grasp what he saw.

"That thing ain't human" he said as he struggled to stand. "I gotta get the others."

As soon as he managed to stand up he suddenly felt pure terror. He felt something come closer towards him. Soon after he heard mechanical breathing that would only come from the masked man. It resonated all over the halls. He didn't know where it comes from. It was everywhere clawing into his psyche. Chon peed his pants in fear and soon broke into a run. He didn't care where as long as it wasn't down where he was. He ran for what felt like a lifetime as he passed endless doors and dark corridors. He was soon exhausted. His breathing became heavy, his heartbeat punching him but he had to get out away from the terror that was chasing him.

Soon after he saw a light emanating from the distance. It was the exit he was looking for desperately. He was saved. The others will be there. Killers and brawlers that is tougher and more dangerous than him who will kill the one that's chasing him.

"That Freak can't kill all of them haha." He said hopefully. "OVER HERE GUYS! He's right behind me!"

The moment he emerged from the confines of the ship, he saw his fellow pirates get butchered. Chon stood motionless as he saw the masked man move through the goons like a plague and cut them apart and thrown across the deck. He saw him grapple some of the hardiest men and break their necks and limbs and punched them with great force that their faces collapse. The other pirates continued shooting but the figure kept on running for cover and even used their fellow mates as shields before he slashed and stabbed at them with contempt.

The man then grabbed a pistol and fired single shots that hit its mark accurately. The remaining pirates were in a panic by now and were firing blindly, spraying and praying. The masked man hardly needed to find cover by then and remained composed as he finished the rest with a well-placed shot.

Chon who fell seated at the floor defeated as he saw his last colleague bite the dust asked the masked man who saw and began walking towards him gun at his side.

"Who are you?" the pirate asked fearfully and more so due to the blood that encased the masked figure.

"People call me Grin" he replied while wheeling the cartridges of his revolver and pointing it to his head. "Most call me 'The Reaper.'"

**BANG**

* * *

Grin patted down his hands and cleaned his blades the moment the thrill was over. He took a few seconds to breath and looked around his surroundings. He was saddened by what he saw. Many innocents litter the decks of men, women and even children who never had a chance in life. That troubled him a little as he walked in the blood covered ship.

Grin soon found himself in another problem; he's stuck on a ship with a lot dead people. Even worse, he was stuck on a ship with a lot of dead people without anyone who knew how to drive the ship. Grin then climbed to the bridge and was fortunate to see the engines are still running but fuel was low.

He looked around and saw city lights in the horizon. He steered the ship to that direction and made his way there. A large figure soon emerged the moment the sun began rising from the horizon. It took a shape of a large faceless Buddha.

Grin immediately knew where he was and its reputation. It was a good place to start anew.

"Roanapur here I come."


	2. A Grand Entrance

"Home sweet home." The large black man known as Dutch said as he shut off the PT boat Lagoon and made his way off to the docks.

"You could say that again. I could use some sleep." Benny agreed. "Repairs can wait for tomorrow."

"Couldn't we at least have a drink at the Flag before hitting the hay?" Revy begged. "I could really use something heavy and get wasted after a fucked up job."

"Our entire day was wasted with nothing to show for. And that is already 'something heavy'. That's enough to satisfy me. It can all wait tomorrow" Dutch replied.

"Whatever. What do you say Rock? Ready to even the score?"

"I'm gonna have to pass. It's late and I got lots to do in the morning." Rock indifferently replied and went face first to the couch. He didn't even bother to change out of his usual business clothes.

It WAS an exhausting day for the Lagoon Company. The morning was spent along the sea on a small PT boat carrying goods for deliveries. The rest of the day was spent being chased by smugglers who thought that a double cross would pay more. Gunfights and quick thinking ensued all afternoon til they came across the police and spent all evening evading and hiding from both groups. The cover of night saved them but not their pay and their patience. They were all on edge.

"Pussy. You just scared cuz you can't beat me in a round of shots. C'mon Mr. Jap fight for your honor or some shit" Revy teased.

She knew that Rock has a weakness to people questioning his manliness and would tag along to prove otherwise. She started lightly kicking him to egg him on further. Rock was close to giving in till Dutch came to the rescue and handed the redhead a beer.

"There's your drink. Now shut up and keep quiet cuz this nigger here needs his beauty sleep. See ya'll later." Dutch said as he rubbed his temples due to the stress and slamming his door shut. He was in an obviously bad mood.

"Sweet dreams then boys. I'm goin out." Revy complied. She didn't want to get on Dutch's bad side. Even for the bloodthirsty Revy "Two-Hands" the boss's word is law and his temper is a force of nature when pissed off.

The moment she left silence ensued in the Lagoon Company rooms. Dutch managed to lie down and finally relax after taking off his boots. Not his glasses though. Never his glasses. He started to doze off and get a much needed sleep til—

**SCREEEEEEEETCH! CRASH! BOOOOOMMM!**

The collision shook the entire street and woke everybody up blocks away, the Lagoon Company included.

"THAT'S IT! SOMEONE's GONNA GET SHOT!" Dutch bellowed as he got up and made his way outside followed by Benny and Rock who were also abruptly awakened.

"What the fuck was that? Did something blow up?" Benny yawned, cleaning his glasses to see what was going on.

"I don't think so. Sounded more like an impact." Rock replied.

As the trio made their way outside they saw Revy by the street laughing at the riot. People around the area were also visibly shaken. Lights started popping up all over the streets as eyes were looking onwards to the site of the crash. Some even went outside to take a closer look at the wreck.

"What did you do this time Revy?" Dutch gruffly asked.

"I didn't do shit! Some drunk bastard just parked his ride on the wrong side of the docks haha!" Revy replied as she pointed over the large boat that dug itself past the wooden ports and crashed in a building nearby. Smaller boats around it were blown away and people ran like roaches away and towards the wreck.

"That was AWESOME!" Revy cheered. "Well that made my day. I'm off to bed. I had my fill of excitement for one day."

"What do you think happened?" Rock asked Dutch as they made their way back to the apartments.

"Don't know, don't care. As long as it isn't my dock that's burning down I don't give a fuck." The big man said nothing more after that and Rock kept his questions to himself to avoid any arguments.

"Lucky for me, my job's later in the evening." Benny said as he patted Rock in the back.

"Lucky?" Rock asked with a hint of confusion. Benny said nothing but only pointed out at the sea with a grin in his face. The sun was already up and then his phone abruptly rang.

"Fuck."

The ship's crash and damage in the docks took the people of Roanapur's attention with keen interest especially amongst the criminal underworld. The ship itself wasn't that big but it was big enough to cause some havoc but it did cause some minor damage to the area.

Fortunately though, the collision did not kill anyone in the area. That fact alone raised a few eyebrows due to the irony of everyone dying in any event in the city of the dead almost every day. It was after the discovery of the bodies inside that many paid attention more to the site. The mob bosses especially.

That was exactly what Grin was hoping for. He enjoyed theatricality. He wanted to show the city of what he can do and what better way was it to get the attention of the powers than to do it with grandeur.

Grin wanted a new start anew in a different environment. Lucky for him the city of the dead does not prohibit his "specialty" and he used it to his advantage and shouted to the world that he was there and that he was available.

His plan was almost foolproof that is until the cops came pouring in onto the site from all sides and started cordoning off the establishment. Grin thought fast and took advantage of the people's confusion and panic to escape. They were all too tired and focused to pay heed to a gasmask wearing man who blended in with them and disappeared into the labyrinth of alleyways.

"Fucking cops." Grin cursed. All the work he'd done was thrown out the window. He sank in the floor next to a nearby dumpster and took the time to gather his thoughts to think of what to do next.

As he soon stood up and made his way through the backstreets in defeat a thought then popped up. He didn't know the lay of the land namely the players and rules of the city. Grin knew that information is power and such power would save him from an early grave. He needed to know the different factions of Roanapur, root for the strongest, know what they need and curry their favor for his benefit.

The only problem facing him though is that a new face would stick out like a sore thumb in a place like this. A person a mile away would notice a tall and gaunt mask wearing maniac. Unwanted attention would foil his information gathering and would attract some goons who would cause him trouble. He needed a way to blend in.

"Give me the wallet pal and no one gets hurt."

Grin didn't get startled nor threatened by the voice that called out behind him. Even with a knife touching his neck, he didn't even flinch. Grin would welcome death at any day. But not today. Grin slowly turned around and faced the mugger who's offering him a challenge.

The man was skinny as hell and filthy to boot with his face and hands covered in muck. His hands were also shaking, a sign of drug abuse which would put a man desperate and dangerous. Grin knew that he poses no threat to him even with his knife. A gust of wind would blow this man off to China without much of a fight and it was obvious that the man had no guts to kill even with the fanaticisms of a druggie. Unfortunately for the man, Grin had it in him.

The mugger was stunned the moment he saw Grin's mask and face and lowered his knife by an inch. Grin took advantage of the shock and held the man by the face and slammed his face in the nearby brick wall. The force of the persons head as it smashed to the wall cracked it in the inside and broke his neck with it. It then fell limp in the ground dead, as simple as that.

"Lucky me. You solved my problem." Grin said as he slipped off the man's jacket and tried it on himself. It was a little bit loose but it would do a good job in hiding his face and all from curious crowds. The fact that he looked like a hobo would avoid further suspicion for eavesdropping. Who would look at a beggar twice?

"Thank you for your assistance. Send a good word for me up there my friend" Grin whispered to the dead man as he closed his eyes gently. He then slipped in a silver dollar coin under the man's tongue before leaving. "For your troubles."

Night soon blanketed the bustling city. The cold mists and shadow crawled onto the deserted alleys that furthered the Roanapur's reputation of being called the City of the Dead. Not all remain as dark and bleak as the slums however. Various businesses and activities light up the streets with neon light advertising and selling their wares. Citizens and tourists flock the various restaurants and casinos thus bringing some sign of life in the city's dark shadow.

In one of the few skyscrapers that towered above it all, a middle aged Chinese man in his black overcoat and shades sat on a couch that faces the dazzling lights of his kingdom. On his left he held a cigarette and on the other is his Bourbon drink. He fills the air with smoke as he contemplates the events of the day with his officers who also wear identical black suits and shades. The only difference they have on each other were their haircuts.

The stress from various instances that required his attention in previous subjects exhausted him. No one said that ruling his share of the city was easy nor was it simple. Especially in a complex city such as Roanapur. One plot after another in takes up his time as much was at stake every day and a lot required his direct consideration as to keep the Triads as a force to be reckoned.

The ship incident was one of those matters but unlike the others, The Triad boss Chang noticed it as something else entirely. The subject of the matter was shrouded in mystery and caught Chang's special attention. Mostly out of sheer curiosity.

"What do we know about it?" Chang asked his men as he refreshed himself with a drink.

"Based on what we found out _Dai lo_ is that there were no contraband found inside the ship." the gangster known as Biu replied. "64 dead passengers and 17 dead pirates and large signs of a struggle and gunfire were found all over the scene."

"These were also taken by the cleaners to give us a clearer picture of the scene."Biu then took out a stack of photos out of his suitcase and showcased them to the others one by one.

The Triads always had good agents throughout the city most especially with the Cleaning business. Chang specifically invested on them. Whatever the cleaners may find, the Triads would get first dibs. Some of them are hired on the job in the Triad's pool of hitmen.

"Did they belong to any factions?" one of the other gangsters asked as he pointed to one of the dead pirates in the photo.

"None by the looks of it. Our spies indicate no action from the other organizations here in Roanapur regarding these pirates" Biu replied. "They are just unlucky pirates who happened to raid the wrong ship."

"Question is what DID they come across to when they entered the ship? I see here that the wounds of the passengers are different from the pirates"

The others then looked again at the photos and had their own animated conversations to one another citing their own thoughts and theories on the subject. Chang also noticed the oddity. The passengers were seen to be shot and butchered sloppily. He could only guess that this was done by the pirates. Now the wounds found on the pirates themselves were absolutely different. They were stabbed and shot with pinpoint accuracy in vital parts of their body for a quick kills. Some were shown with crushed skulls and broken bones that was done with unbelievable force that would be impossibly done by a normal person. Whoever did this must have been very skilled.

"This was found on the scene and it might answer all our questions." Biu pointed at the video cassette tape that he also took out from his suitcase. He handed it to one of the gangsters who inserted it to the TV to play.

"What is it?" one of the men asked.

"It's footage from the ship given to us directly by Chief Watsap after a handsome fee. It's the only copy. No one else in the city knows of it except for us." Biu stated with a smug look "I also had the film edited to show us only the vital parts of the film."

Biu always had a thing for detail and never ceased to amaze Chang with his skills in micromanaging any situation with efficiently. He was glad to put Biu in charge of the operation. He knew that Biu would do well with it effectively. Biu wasn't called number 2 for nothing.

The footage was caught by CCTV cameras in the ship. The first part of the film showed the pirates boarding the ship and taking over. It then skipped to the view of the ship's bridge and showed the pilot's being overpowered and beaten by the pirates before controlling the ship completely. \

The film skipped again to the scene where the pirates then led the people to the central deck where all hell broke loose as one of the hostages and a pirate fought over the gun. The gangsters watched indifferently as they saw the hostages get butchered and shot indiscriminately by the pirates on the video. The film skips itself in the many parts of the ship where they saw the pirates hunting down the passengers as they sacked the ship of its goods.

The scene then skip to a view in the hallway where the viewers saw a pirate running out of sheer terror from one end of the hall to the other before disappearing from the screen. The scene stayed like that till a masked figure emerged from the shadows and calmly walked down the hall. Biu paused then video immediately when the figure was very close to the camera.

"Is that who I think it is?" Chang abruptly asked as he raised an eyebrow. The other gangsters also showed surprise at seeing the masked man.

The man wasn't seen in any part of the video before the attack. He wasn't with the passengers who were herded nor was he seen anywhere when everyone was getting butchered. He just popped up as though the devil himself conjured him like a bat out from hell. The video was low quality but Chang could still make up some of the person's features. The thing that made him stand out the most was the man's gas mask, and his eye. Chang saw that his left eye was bandaged by a cloth but his other eye showed him who he is.

"Yes _Dai lo_." Biu replied as he let the others have a look at the mysterious figure. "The person here Grin 'the Reaper' himself"

The gangsters were visibly unnerved by just hearing the name. While Grin "the Reaper" stands infamous as one of the most efficient killers in the criminal underworld hardly anyone knew anything about him. But he is known for his efficiency, brutality and unorthodox methods. The fact that the Reaper himself has arrived in the shores of Roanapur would be a game changer.

The film continued with a view to the front deck where most of the pirates were gathering. Some were shown smoking and chatting while others are picking through the corpses and bags.

The scene then changed to the upper decks where two of the pirates are seen talking and showing off their weapons to each other. Out of nowhere, a figure ran through the men and slashed one of them in the neck and left him bleeding before grabbing the other and carrying him as the Reaper jumped out of the screen.

The Reaper was shown to have used the man he was holding as a cushion for the jump as the scene changed to the camera that oversaw the deck. The pirates' slow reaction allowed the masked man to cut down another person by a stab to the head and using that person as a human shield and mowing down more of the pirates who were shooting randomly as they allow their panic to get the best of them.

He worked fast as he slew the pirates with ease and agility. He used everything around him to his advantage from using corpses as cover, contents of the bags as distraction and the pirate's very own weapons. In one scene he even used the rope of the mainmast and tied one of the pirates in the neck before sending the man up above 10ft to hang. That was one of the few abilities that the gangsters saw the Reaper do.

After executing the last pirate execution style, the Reaper then looked at the screen and gave out a salute to the viewers. The video then went static.

"We didn't find him after the crash. He might have left after the police came pouring in." Biu stated

"Do you want us to look for him _Dai lo_?" one of the men asked.

"There's no need. He'll show himself up again." Chang replied confidently as he leaned back in his chair and lit himself another cigarette. He knew what this "Reaper" wanted. He'll give him his consideration. All Chang needed to do now was wait. The Reaper will show himself up eventually.

"How do you know that he would _Dai lo_?"

"You forget my friend; I used to be a cop. I know how these guys work." Chang replied after pouring himself a large shot of Bourbon and turned his seat towards the window overlooking the city.


	3. The First Job

Grin spent most of the day amongst the populace of the city hiding in the shadows learning what he could about how things work in the city. It didn't take long before Grin managed to gain all the info he needed. It didn't even take all day to find out the details of how things worked in Roanapur. Hardly anything stays secret for so long no matter how small or grand are the acts and in a few hours almost half the city will know about it.

He sat near restaurants and bars, walked around marketplaces and loitered about in alleys and other gatherings. He focused his attention from on men who looked important to thugs and goons with loose lips and spent the hours listening in on the conversations. As vague the chats go, Grin learned much from it. People of there had no problem keeping quiet with their plans and happenings, their troubles and gossips; and at the sidelines of every discussion, Grin hears it all. No one would care to notice a beggar on a streets.

Amongst the shadow of Roanapur, Grin learned there are countless factions that scratch for power and profit in the city. They had their holds on various businesses in throughout the city and fight amongst each other for money and territory. Death was also a normal circumstance in the city. Poverty as well as they is as common as the dead. Most of the population is also made up mostly of freelancers and killers like him who act as mere meat for the grinder.

"Poor souls the lot of them."

Such a foundation would end a city in chaos yet Grin noticed that there was some sort of order in the streets. Then he discovered the 4 gods of Roanapur: The Hong Kong Triads led by a Mr. Chang, The Italian Mafia led by Ronnie "The Jaws", The Colombian Cartel led by Abrego and Hotel Moscow led by Balalaika. A lot of rumors circulated the streets regarding them. Some were laughable at most and some almost impossible to believe. Whatever tale was told of them one thing was certain, they were the true lords of the city with the power to crush anything or anyone who would dare oppose them. That fact alone repeated itself amongst the criminal population.

Grin heard other stories apart from the mobs, namely the characters and some events that happen to occur and appear in the city. He heard of the one they called "Two Hands" and her penchant for chaos, the mysterious being known by many as "The Maid" who caused some havoc a few weeks back and other colorful killers and miscreants who litter the underworld. The only person that was different from the others was the man they call "Rock". Though he didn't pay attention to that subject much.

"_I'd fit well right in" _Grin thought. He almost felt at home in the dark city of death. He felt welcomed with open arms amongst the criminals and killers who were just like him.

* * *

By the end of the day he learned enough and abandoned his façade and went about the streets to absorb what he knew. He also needed a place to stay in.

It didn't take that long for Grin find a cheap hotel to stay in. He saw one as he finished his objectives and abandoned his smelly disguise in the trash. It was an old establishment with its ripped wallpaper and leaky floors. It wasn't his first choice of a hotel but since he was low on money, it was the only one he could afford at the moment.

"Welcome to the _Do la _Inn where your something is something something." the old lobbyist announced with a bored tone from behind the glass booth her eyes glued to the newspaper she's reading all the while chewing gum. "the rooms are 700 _Baht._

"Please leave your money on the plate and grab your key. Enjoy your stay sir or ma'am" She pointed at the key rack behind her in the booth, popping her gum while she's at it.

Grin then sheepishly reached in to the booth without a word and grabbed a random key. He took a moment just standing in front of the lobbyist. She was quite bad at her job, Grin observed. Even if the building was burning down or if he was bashing her head onto the glass she wouldn't even care or notice. He knew better however than to do that. It wasn't her time yet. Grin grabbed his bag and made his way up to his room.

The room he was staying in was almost as bad as the building. The place was crap even by Grin's standards and he had a noisy neighbor with company to boot. As terrible as the lodgings were, he considered it lucky to have a place that has a bed and a comfortable room.

He was also tired due to the activities of the day to even care anymore. He jumped straight to bed without even removing his knick knacks. Save for his knife which he threw to the table after it nearly cut him from its sheath. The bed was a tad lumpy but would suffice despite missing a spring or so. His hissing breath soon echoed the room as Grin slowly falls to slumber.

It was a dreamless sleep as it usually was for Grin. He didn't have nightmares from his explicit exploits nor good dreams filled with pleasure. He had killed many and he remembers them all and if he did, the ghosts were there to remind him. He pays them no mind though. They are all nothing to him, as much as everything else there was in his sad life. Let them visit him in the dark, he didn't care.

He woke up then suddenly a few hours or so later for some odd reason. His hands and body started to shake slightly uncontrollably. Cramps and muscle spasms jolted into his body like electricity and limited his movements beyond his control. While pain was the only sensation he could sense. It was all agony and excruciating as sweat started beading from his skin.

Grin took a few deep breaths from his mask yet something was amiss. Somehow the air was a bit different. It smelled unfamiliar than his usual dose. His mask was out of gas. Grin then forced his way up and hobbled towards his bag across the room. Each step shared its own share of pain. His legs and joints began cramping which made the task of simply walking difficult. He then shuffled through its contents and found himself a small spare gas container.

After reloading his gas he took a moment to breathe in and allow the pain to swim away. It took a few seconds of breathing before Grin felt like himself again. He was in control. He was careless to forget to replace it at a harsh cost. These portable painkillers that he makes himself would last him a better part of a day or so depending on his breath intake. It was also his last one. He'll have to make some more soon. He hated being so dependent on something so desperately.

He took off his belongings from him, dropped them to the floor and went straight to the shower. It was fortunate for him to have a room with running water. He cared little for the freezing water. He could hardly feel it after his severe and painful condition. He stood there under the cold stream for a long time in comfort and meditation. He felt ashamed to be so dependent on the drug despite it helping him live that long.

It helped. Both the gas and the shower have. He felt more refreshed and renewed. After drying up, he looked at himself in the mirror and saw himself in the flesh – though he kept his mask on. His body was full of scars from various adventures and he remembered it all. Every painful experience. But he didn't dwell on it that long.

He soon got changed to fresh new clothes and looked around the room for something to do. The room itself had hardly any furniture apart from a cabinet on the corner, a bed and a table next to it. Grin looked inside the table's drawer and was surprised to find something of interest.

Inside the drawer were a large revolver pistol and some spare rounds scattered about with it. The insides of the table also had traces of blood so Grin guessed that the previous owner wouldn't mind him taking it for himself. The owner probably won't come back for it.

He was no Clint Eastwood but he could tell that the gun was a .44 Magnum Revolver though with a smaller barrel. A truly powerful gun and would prove useful for a skilled marksman and lucky for him it was still in good condition. Grin looked inside and saw it empty. He took 3 bullets, placed it in random cartridges, then spun the cartridge case like a badass then pointed it to himself then pulled the trigger.

**CLICK!**

"Damn." Said Grin, a tad disappointed. He could always try tomorrow. Grin then took with him his Bowie knife which he strapped around his belt and brought the .44 Magnum he loaded fully and placed the spare rounds in his pocket. He then soon afterwards made his way out the room. The need for sleep was gone. He needed some air.

* * *

On his way through the narrow halls and down to the lobby he felt something amiss. As he slowly made his way down, he saw down in the lobby, were three men who stood by the entrance of the hotel. They wore good fitting suits and armed by the looks of their hands in their suits as well as fit by the way they carried themselves.

Grin wondered how they managed to find him in short time. He thought about it a while as he made his way down the stairs. He tried to recall every move he made that day, trying to find a simple mistake he made. A pop soon broke his concentration. That lobby girl isn't as clueless as he expected.

"Ah, Mr. Grin. We were just on our way to see you." The lead man said with a thick Russian accent and an open hand and a cool head. Grin saw that the men around him showed no sign of fear or anxiety as most criminals have when seeing him. They were instead cautious and appeared to show curiosity to the man in front of them.

"It was just as lucky for us to find you ready to leave. Please come with us if you will." The man continued pointing to the car parked outside.

Grin politely refused the man's greeting with utter silence. His breath was the only voice heard in the awkward stillness. He took a moment to look at the men standing in front of him and wondered if they were a threat. He saw none yet remained vigilant and decided to approach the men go where they want him. He noticed as he approached them that the men had faint scars etching amongst their skin and their eyes showed signs of experience in the art of killing. These men are – or were – soldiers. Experienced one at most. It is wise to be ready amongst them just in case, Grin thought.

Grin walked to the leader of the men and shook his hand showing that he is willing to cooperate and shook his head with a nod without saying a single word. The men showed slight signs of relief by the time Grin made his way out after agreeing. He was satisfied that they know what he was capable of by presence alone.

"We are on our way to HQ Kapitan with the package in tow." The man called in his phone as they made their way off.

"…"

"Yes Kapitan. Thank you. We will be there in a bit."

The road was quiet after that. Grin said not a word the entire trip and neither did the men surrounding him. Grin was confident that all will be made clear when he arrived to their destination.. He spent the rest of the trip wondering what kind of person this Kapitan Balalaika would be?

* * *

Grin and his escort soon arrived to their destination, a large red skyscraper in the far side of town with the logo of the local _Bou__gainvillea Trading Company_; a cover for the infamous Hotel Moscow. Before Grin could see more of the building he was greeted by a security team who eyed him with prejudice.

"With all due respect sir, but would you kindly leave your weapons here?"

Grin was forced to comply begrudgingly and gave them his knife and gun. As skillful as Grin was without those weapons, losing them increased his chances of waking up in a ditch somewhere. He did not think that they would bring him all the way here in such style to just kill him though. That gave him slight comfort. Slight.

"Excuse me sir, but would you please remove all metallic devices, gadgets and other items for the full body scan."

_"This would take a while_" Grin thought a tad annoyed as he dug into his pockets.

* * *

The room was covered with the scent of smoke and ash the moment the doors opened. Though it did not trouble him in breathing, it did block some of his vision as he made his way inside. As soon as the smoke cleared came to view a scarred blonde woman sat in one end of the table with a cigar in her hand with a large similarly disfigured man on a corner next to her. If Grin would guess, that man must be her right hand man Boris.

The woman was beautiful despite the scars that etched itself all over her face even by Grin's standards. The streets weren't exaggerated when they called her by the moniker of "Fry-face". The fact that they also call her that in a hushed tone also proved how this woman isn't a push over. Grin's observation alone proved these rumors true. She was a veteran and a war hero. She's seen her share of hell and fought hard for it. This woman would also be capable of kicking Grin's ass herself.

"Please have a seat Mr. Reaper." The woman said with a puff of smoke. "I see that your reputation precedes you based on what I've heard. You have personally caught my full attention."

"The pleasure is all mine Ms. Balalaika." Grin replied with a nod. "I would also say that you have good spies in this city."

"Thank you. I pride myself to have a good set of eyes in the gutters. I am quite pleased to have found you in short notice especially in these dire times."

"Hmmm. I know you didn't have me here just to exchange pleasantries madam. As a military man, time isn't a luxury to be wasted."

"Perceptive one aren't you? Let's get down to business." The woman said with a smile. She was a tad impressed by his knowledge of her. She wondered how he knew so much in such a short time. "I am in need of someone with your expertise."

"What do you need?"

"There is a traitor in our midst here in Hotel Moscow. He is embezzling funds and selling contrabands without our consent. I want them stopped and made an example of. As much as I would like to make this personal, my hands are tied and cannot make any move that might risk my organization." Balalaika spoke with no emotion nor desperation. Just an indifferent tone that one would hear from a briefing.

"And that is where YOU come in." She continued. "We require your skill to hunt down this traitor. $65,000 – Dead or $135,000 – alive so I could teach him some manners. This information is known only to the people inside this room and we would prefer to keep it that way. Do you agree?"

Grin understood. A man from the inside would know how Hotel Moscow would operate and could counter any move they play against them. They also need to keep this quiet so that it won't leak out to the other factions and use it to their own advantage. This person is also ex-Spetsnaz so he would be difficult to catch and take down.

"I accept." Grin replied without hesitation. "Expect to have your man here and his entire operation eliminated before the week is out."

"I will hold you to that and I hope that your confidence would prove you wise. If you fail to accomplish this mission, hope that you die by this traitor's hand than face mine." Said Balalaika, her eyes grew large and mad with a sinister smile to match her cold icy breath.

Grin wasn't threatened by this sudden change of character nor was he hindered by the risks and threats of the mission. It wasn't his first time dancing with the devil. Unphased, Grin replied confidently and fearlessly: "I won't."

"Before you leave, might I ask you a question?" Balalaika called out as Grin was making his way out the door. Grin stopped to turn and replied to her with a curt nod.

"Yes, I was led to believe that you had a both limbs intact but here I see you only with your right arm. Was there a recent accident or do my contacts need a new set of eyes?" the blonde woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

Grin calmly faced the Russian and removed his leather jacket and showed her his empty and limbless left forearm. It was an old wound he received from long ago. The skin at the elbow was already closed the stump shut with only the scars to show where his front limb and hand was.

"If you're looking for the rest, it is with your security downstairs." Grin nonchalantly replied as he wore his jacket again to hide his disfigurement. "Anything else madam Balalaika?"

"None at all Mr. Reaper. You are dismissed."

* * *

"He is an odd one, that man." Said Boris, who spoke as soon as Grin left the premises. "He says few but his actions says more."

"I am starting to get fond of him Sergeant." Balalaika replied as she lit herself another cigar. "He's just like us. Soldiers who seek an honorable death."

"More like a lost man seeking a quick death by the looks of it Kapitan. Do you think he could be a threat?"

"As of now he is an opportunity and a good investment. We'll see what he's capable of soon."


	4. Unleashed

"How much longer are we going to wait in this fog Mikael?" Danilov asked as he lit himself another cigarette and holding tight on his coat. It was a usual thing in Roanapur to be misty and cold in the night like this as compared to the heat of day. Though the inner confines of the city remain lighted and lively, the docks remain dark and foggy. This makes the transfer of contraband and goods much easier for smugglers.

"_Terpeniye Comrade. Terpeniye. _It will arrive soon. The Lagoon Company is just having difficulty because of the tide." Mikael replied as he took another draught of moonshine from his bottle. They have been waiting for over an hour now and things are getting tense. A lot of things get easily tense in an illegal imports such as this and would definitely turn out for the worst. An overdue appointment would be one of them.

"It better be. We can't afford to have any delays right now."

"You in a hurry for something Danilov?" Mikael asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What? No. Not at all. I just can't stand the cold is all."

"Ha! Some Russian you are. This is nothing compared to the cold of the Motherland. You wouldn't have lasted a day there as compared to this "cold" here." Mikael jested and tossed a bottle of moonshine to his shivering friend. "Here. Have a whiff of this. Made it myself"

"_Spasibo Comrade. _I could use a drink." Danilov replied grateful at the gesture.

He didn't blame his friend much though, it HAS been colder than usual here for some odd reason and he felt this strange feeling creeping up his spine and he knows that's what's getting his friend spooked. Something's up but he just can't put his finger on it.

Before he could say more about the subject a ship soon came to view out of a fog. It was an old PT boat that the US Army used in the Vietnam War. Though Mikael thinks of it as a piece of junk from another era, it was still a force to be reckoned with especially with its crew in tow.

"About time you've come." Danilov called out as soon as the ship docked. "My ass was freezing back here."

"Calm down Ruski. Just had a run in with some cops but we made it through." Dutch replied as he was hauling in large crates under his arm. He placed one of the crates in front of the men for inspection. Mikael took a crowbar and opened the box and found one of the many caches of AK-74 rifles that are fresh from the factories and ready for combat use.

"Looks to be in good order. I trust you enough for the rest." Mikael assured Dutch. He made a gesture to Danilov to open the trunk of the truck and had him begin stocking the crates in it. "Help us load them in the truck then we will give you the money."

"Fine by me."

* * *

"Hey Revy, you've been kinda on edge lately. What's the matter?" Rock asked as he is picking up another crate. He noticed that Revy was awfully quiet the moment they docked. She hasn't cursed nor swore to anyone which made him worry for his friend.

"Yea Revy you haven't cursed or say anything at since we came back." Benny added as he was helping in moving the crates from the boat. It was odd for both men to notice the lack of the usual explosive personality of the one they called "Two Hands". If they were to be honest, it sort off unsettled them.

"Just got this feeling that's all. Don't you smell it in the air." Revy answered. Her eyes sharpened and her blank lips soon curled to an evil grin. She was on the verge of being a time bomb that's ready to explode at any time. Her hand was already holding one of her trademark Cutlasses "There's the stink of Death and Gunpowder prowling around the place."

"You mean like an ambush?" Rock asked in a hushed voice. His eyes grew wide as he looked at his surroundings waiting for any signs of movement. So far he saw none. The only people in the area were them and the 2 Russians. "You think it's coming from them?"

"No. Sis wouldn't break a deal this simple. This is definitely something else. Coming from somewhere else." Revy eyed the area with her guns drawn. She had sensed something odd about the moment they arrived to the docks. The last time she felt this intensity was when the large boat crashed itself in the nearby docks a few days past. Revy could have only guessed that the person who caused that entire ruckus was back and he was nearby.

"Something big is gonna happen here later, Rock." She went on. "The smell's so tense that it's already choking." Her words were heard by everyone and took a moment to keep an eye out as well for any signs of trouble, the Russians included.

Oddly enough though, nothing happened after a few minutes. Dutch and the others continued the transfer of material though at unease and with caution. They received the payment they were due and went on their way home. Mikael and Danilov also made their way back to one of Hotel Moscow's warehouses to drop off the goods for next morning.

"What a killjoy huh Dani?" Mikael said as they were locking up the warehouse with the truck inside. "I sure could have used some practice tonight. My shooting is starting to lose its skill you know?"

"Thank god that there wasn't though. It was so hard to see in this damned fog."

"Yeah. You could have shot yourself by accident hahaha!"

"Fuck you Ukrainian. Do you think that chick from the Lagoon was right? That someone was watching us?"

"That girl is psychotic. Too much liquor in the head and not much down her pants. She's just crazy. There's nothing happening tonight. Now pack up and I'll see you at the barracks. I gotta go out for a smoke."

"Sure thing. Peace out Mikael."

And with that, Mikael was alone. It took a few minutes to finish his smoke which relaxed him for the stress. It didn't take long before a car appeared just across the street a block away. The car blinked its headlights twice while Mikael smoked on. After looking at the opposite street for any passerby's, Mikael threw his cigarette away while waving his hand about.

"Coast is clear boys. Let's get to work."

* * *

The old busted up sedan car approached and parked just in front of the old warehouse. 4 men disembarked and approached the lone Russian with tense expressions. Mikael noticed that all were armed and these guys are just lowly street thugs so the chances of them double-crossing him are high. Mikael however needed them and would have to deal with them with force if he had to. He was after all an expert.

"The goods are there?" the lead thug asked. His hand brandishing an old rusted Taurus pistol and scratched his head with it to intimidate the Russian.

"Yea. Keys are right here" He tossed them at one of the lowly thugs and made way for him to pass. "Now do it fast. The night shift will pass by soon. Same as last time."

"Sure thing man. Nice working with you too Ruski." The lead man grinned showing his teeth who were no prettier than his face. "The old scarred bitch not paying you enough?"

"No. Just got some bad gambling debts." Mikael didn't want to talk about his issues with the mob. "Now get back to work. I wasn't hired to chat with the likes of you."

"Whatever you say, _Comrade._" He replied with a mocking tone.

The doors of the warehouse soon opened and Mikael and 3 of the men went inside. The 4th man stayed outside to keep watch while Mikael and the rest started loading the crates to the car as quiet and fast as they could. One of the thugs then went to the recently parked truck and opened the truck's cargo. A masked man then exposed himself as the doors opened and kicked the thug hard in the face and knocked him out to the floor.

"Hell, it's about time." The masked man breathed. His voice was like a demon from hell.

The startled faces of the men gave the masked man enough time to jump off from the cargo hold and get a close shot at the Head thug's face killing him instantly. It took a while for the other men to know what was going on and immediately took cover before the masked man fired again.

"What the FUCK is goin on here?" the thug who was keeping watch outside shouted as he entered the warehouse. He was caught off guard by seeing Grin standing in the middle of the chaos and saw the others hiding behind the crates. His reaction was greeted by Grin with a knife throw to the throat. The throw was so hard that it impaled the thug by a wall.

While that thug was gargling blood, Mikael decided to take control of the situation seeing as the current head of the operation was missing a few pieces. Mikael immediately knew that the man had the advantage of the situation. Mikael decided that a sound retreat was due if they were to survive this engagement. He fired a few rounds at the masked man who went behind some cover to reload and pulled one of the thugs close and said, "Let's get the fuck out of here! We'll shoot as we make for the door!"

The men ran off out of the warehouse, firing as they did. The masked man however maintained his cool and walked at a brisk pace whilst shooting. A few managed to graze him and punched through his jacket yet he retained his accuracy. With a single shot one of the men was hit and fell to the ground. A bullet made its way through the weak points of the wall and into the thug's back.

"C'mon!" Mikael shouted to the last thug who still had a sense to be conscious. The thug however thought otherwise. The goon instead dropped his empty gun to the floor and charged the masked figure head on with a large piece of 2x4. "What a fucking idiot." Mikael cursed as he struggled to start the old crappy car's engine.

Grin thought the same as he saw the oversized gorilla come at him. The buffoon charged in fear than fury, shouting and cursing as he went. He swung the piece of wood hard at Grin who remained standing idle. It then shattered to pieces when Grin easily blocked it with his metal arm. Grin then grabbed a flying piece of wood from the air and stabbed it at the man's eye. As the thug fell to the ground, screaming his lungs out as he did, Grin silenced him permanently with a heavy boot to the face.

The moment Mikael saw the thug's head explode he struggled to start the car. The engine continued to sputter as the masked figure began walking towards him. He tried starting the car frantically as he saw the man emptying his revolver's spent shells and reloading them with new ones. The second the masked man raised the gun to shoot, only then did the car turn on and drove wildly past the streets.

"Holy shit…." Mikael panted heavily as he drove away from that gas mask wearing maniac. He had no clue who the fuck that freak was and what the fuck he was there for but he was glad to get away. He was also glad that his goons managed to load some of the goods in the car so he'll still get paid either way. When he looked behind him he saw that the figure instead walking away back to the warehouse. He sighed in relief knowing that he was finally safe.

* * *

Grin kept watch as the Russian speedily drive away before walking back to the warehouse. He was quite glad that he managed to get away. It saved him the trouble of capturing the Russian and having him lead him to where he is based for the rest of the stolen goods. Even for Grin, it would still be dangerous to have a Spetsnaz in chains. At least in this case, he could have both the goods and the Russian in one go. All he needed now was the location. Fortunately for him one of the goons was left unconscious inside the warehouse.

He saw the man still lying on the floor where he kicked him. His nose was broken and bleeding profusely on the floor. Grin tried shaking the guy awake but the guy was knocked out cold that he wouldn't budge. Grin then tried plan B and decided to shoot the man's ear off.

**BANG!**

"AAHHHHHRRGGHHHHH!" The man yelled. Grin stepped hard at the man's chest to stop him from rolling away and grabbed the thug by the neck and raised him a few inches from the ground.

"Where do you keep the goods?" Grin asked.

"F..F..Fuck you!" The man spat. In response Grin shot at the man's left knee joint. The thug bellowed in pain as the bullet blew his leg apart and tore off due to the power of the gun.

"Where is the Russian hiding?" Grin asked calmly, unsympathetic to the man's suffering.

"I..I…I don't-AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" the man screamed once again as Grin shot off his knee with the same result as the previous one.

"You're losing a lot of blood. You only have a few minutes to spare before dying." Grin effortlessly dropped the man to the bloody floor. "Tell me what I want to know or else I make it worse for you."

"I don't…I don't remember-AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Grin shot the man's arm off

"The human body is an interesting specimen." Grin said. His voice showed a monotone of curiosity and seeing the man as no more than a science experiment. The masked man then stepped hard on the man's dismembered limb causing the thug to wallow in agony.

"It struggles to survive no matter the cost usually due to the added dose of adrenaline that pushes it to the limit. Let's jog your memory a little." Grin continued as he stepped on the thugs dangling arm harder. "Remember."

"He's…he's in the…an apartment compound at...at the 35th street." The man struggled hard to find the words. The agony of his exposed wounds added an extra kick in his memory helping him remember. But it didn't keep him from dying.

"Thank you for the help." Grin said as placed a coin under the corpse's tongue and closed the man's eye shut. Alarmed voices were then heard and sounds of police sirens soon echoed about the streets. Grin then dashed out the door, snatching his knife from the impaled corpse as he did, and hid in the confines of the alleys. Grin then made his way to his final destination at 35th street, preparing for the grand finale of the evening.

* * *

"What the fuck happened Mikael? And where are the rest of my men?" The Boss man stood aghast as Mikael entered the premises of their headquarters alone and bloodied.

"Dead." Mikael panted. He made his way to the nearby fridge and got himself some beer. He refreshed himself with the alcohol and continued his statement. "By some gas masked freak. He killed everybody. Lucky I made it out alive, with your goods as well if you're asking"

"But you still left that fuck alive?" The Boss man raised an eyebrow, bemused at the Russian's account. "And here I thought that you elites are supposed to be the best?"

"Don't insult me boy!" Mikael grabbed the Boss man by the collar. The men around them raised their weapons at the Russian but Mikael didn't mind. "Just because I owe you some money doesn't mean I'd let you bite me around like some fucking plush chew toy."

Mikael dropped the Boss man onto the floor and gave himself a long drink of another can from the other table. Everyone in the room stayed quiet, unsure of what to do next. The situation became tense between him and the Russian. He'll need him as an ally or else he will be fucked by either the mob or this "Masked man."

"Where you followed?" The Boss man asked when he managed to find his voice.

"No I wasn't. Made sure of that myself." Mikael was confident that he wasn't but he can never be sure. He made his way to the sofa and unfolded it revealing a cache of ready to use automatic rifles.

"Nonetheless we got to be ready." Mikael continued as he began distributing the weapons amongst the men.

"For what?" asked the Boss man as he got lost in the situation at hand.

Before Mikael could answer a van was heard throttling down the street towards their building. The men unleashed a barrage of lead at the vehicle as they shouted orders to gun it down. The vehicle itself did not cease its speed and kept on coming despite turning itself into Swiss Cheeze. Fire soon erupted in the car and engulfed it completely. Mikael immediately knew what was about to happen. The car was a bomb.

"Everybody get down!" He shouted as he dropped to cover. The vehicle blew up just outside the apartment complex shattering every window and knocking out everything and everyone who wasn't tied down. Mikael and his cronies included. The blast threw them across the room and knocked them unconscious.

White noise was soon heard all around Mikael after that explosion. Ashes and embers floated about and the air was hot. Men and missing limbs soon entered his view as he saw his colleagues clawing for life as they took the full brunt of the blast. Mikael did his best to find his footing. His legs were weak and his senses in shock. The sound of thuds was soon heard and was getting louder by the minute. Mikael realized that these were gunshots.

Mikael found his pistol on the ground and checked for bullets. It was fully loaded thank God. His relief was soon interrupted as the door in front of him kicked open with great force that it fell. Mikael finally came face to face with the very same masked man he encountered earlier. With nothing held back he decided to settle it between them once and for all.

Mikael acted fast and immediately shot at the man in full force. The masked figure simply raised his left arm and deflected the bullets easily while moving about the room dodging every shot. When Mikael's clip was spent he was gored by the masked man to the ground and came face to face with a gun pointed at him.

**CLICK!**

* * *

"Damn." Grin cursed. Killing the incapacitated men took most out of his shells. Grin then regretted not picking up any of the guns on the floor; he had to move fast after all. The Russian he was wrestling took that advantage and knocked Grin off him and proceeded to a fist fight in the bombed out room.

The Russian was fast. Grin wasn't so bad himself as he broke through the walls with every punch and sent the Russian flying when he does make contact. But Grin could hardly keep up with his fists as they kept on coming at him. He took the full brunt of the punches straight to the face and other vital areas despite doing his best at blocking them. Grin could literally hear bells ringing as he got punched. Fortunately for Grin, he could hardly feel any of them and continued to endure the onslaught.

Grin managed to even the odds by taking hold of the Russian's arm and breaking it easily like one would do with a twig. The Russian though in pain refused to give in and tackled Grin out the window from the second floor and crashed onto the front windshield of a parked car.

To the disappointment of the Russian, it did not stop Grin whatsoever. Grin took advantage of the man's surprise with a punch to the face that knocked the wind out of the Russian and proceeded to ram the man's head onto the wrecked car. He broke every glass window on that car using the man's head before throwing the him to the ground; defeated.

Black cars then filled the streets and surrounding the area. Hotel Moscow finally arrived in the scene and Balalaika paused to see the work of the Reaper unleashed. She ordered the men to clear out the area and the men set up a perimeter around the building. The gangsters then began reclaiming their lost goods.

"I must admit Reaper, I'm impressed." said Balalaika as she approached the bruised freelancer. "You didn't have a hard time now did you?"

"You trained them well."

"Yes. Haha. He was after all under my command." She motioned the men to pick up the unconscious traitor from the street and began carrying him to the nearby van. "He'll be made an example off in case you're wondering."

"With all due respect, but that doesn't matter much to me. It's just a job for me." Grin replied as he stood himself up. He approached the wounded traitor who was being carried awayand placed a coin under his tongue and whispered. "You'll need it."

"Of course. It is all quite a scene really." She watched the wanton destruction caused by one man. It reminded her of her glory days in the army. She wondered if Grin himself was a soldier. "You're payment will be sent to your account as agreed. My thanks included as an added bonus. I'll call again next time for another job in tow."

"See you then _Kapitan_." Grin saluted as the cars departed and left him in the confines of the dark alone.


	5. Church Visit

"Bartender. Whiskey. The strongest you got. Leave the bottle." Grin called out to the bartender as he seated himself by the bar. The bartender looked at him with curiosity as well as caution. He nonetheless gave the stranger his order, glass and all.

"Any clue how you would drink that buddy?" Bao asked, laughing at the prospect of seeing the man would drink or eat anything with that gas mask on.

Grin said nothing. He simply showed the bartender by unscrewing the filter from his mask unleashing a faint his of escaping gas. He then proceeded to gulp down the half bottle in one go and placed it back at the table with no signs of being drunk.

"Ain't it kinda early to be getting drunk in the middle of the afternoon?" Bao asked, still in disbelief of how tough this man could hold his liquor.

"Rough night." Grin replied and continued finishing his drink in another go. "Another."

"You that Reaper guy they've been talking about right?"

"Call me Grin. What gave me away?"

"Do you need to ask?" Bao answered rhetorically. "No one said anything about an eye patch though. How'd you lose it?"

"I ate it." Grin answered with a deep look into Bao's eyes. Bao had to admit, the man can do a poker face. He couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Is that so? Heard what you did last night in at 35th street. Quite a scene really. Must have been paid a lot for it huh?" Bao was used to the psychopathic patrons who come to his bar so he didn't fear the t

"Hmph. You wish." Grin sulked and drank his fill of the burning whiskey. "Pay got cut cuz of the guy dying before making it to the hospital and again to compensate for the damaged goods…and buildings"

"Oooh. Tough break, son."

That wasn't all the expenses had to pay. The medical bills for his injuries were expensive as well. Ripping people off seems to be the religion in these parts. Grin could barely afford his usual anesthetic gas due to high prices people deal with. Lucky for him he might just have enough to buy weapons.

Expenses weren't all that he was bummed about. He was disappointed at not getting killed by the Russian ex-Spetsnaz. He seriously overestimated the man's skill and defeated him easily. The man didn't fight like his life depended on it. That's what got him killed. No survival instinct.

"Hey bartender." Grin called as he let down his drink and reattached his mask's filter. "Know any place I can buy guns?"

* * *

"This must be the place." Grin said as he disembarked from the Tuk-tuk and made his way towards the church. Grin however wasn't convinced. A godless place like Roanapur has no need for salvation and a church in its tenure. He immediately saw it as just a front for an organization's illegal activities, namely weapons and drugs based on what he heard. If Grin was to stay in this city, he'll need more firepower than what he already had.

"Hello! Die! Hello!" a parrot nearby called out. "I'll fucking kill you ya hear! Hello!"

"_So this place is no different huh_?" Grin thought. He could only imagine the colorful characters that do business here and he could also guess that the workers here are no pushovers. His thoughts proved true when he was – sort of – welcomed by a blonde haired nun with ugly pink sunglasses. Oddly enough though, Grin noticed a slight flare in her eyes the moment she saw him. He wondered for a second what that meant.

"What do you want?" The nun asked bluntly, chewing gum while she was at it.

"I heard that this was the place to go for good weapons. Is that true?"

"Yea. Now what do you want?" The nun asked again.

"To buy guns. " Grin thought his words well. He wondered if this was a test as she was eying him closely. He didn't like that feeling.

"Come on in." The nun finally said.

The Church – oddly enough – looked like a church from inside and out. There were pews on the side, altar and Jesus Christ and all. It seems as though these criminals are devotees themselves.

"Hey Rico! We got a buyer!" The nun yelled. "And don't you dare calling me fucking Sis." So much for sanctity.

"Got it Sister Eda." A laid back, young green haired man said and has the look of a rookie. The rude nun soon left for another room. "You got a name?" Rico asked

"Grin."

"Pleasure to meet ya. So anyway as for weapons, Take your pick." Rico led Grin to a large gallery of weapons neatly stacked and classified per type and calibur. "This is one of many stocks we got in this place. You'll see the same weapons here as in our storehouses."

"We also don't include ammo in this room for obvious reasons." The man continued with an annoying smile on his face. "Other than that, it's your pick."

The man stayed by the door as he watched Grin silently skim through the weapons at his reach. There were many to choose from so it is hard to pick favorites. There were countless rifles, machine guns and the like all over the room. There was even a flamethrower on the side. Grin then decided to pick ones that suited his style to save time. He picked only the ones that are easy to conceal, powerful and accurate.

It didn't take long to find what he wanted. His first choice was a classic American M1911 pistol with modified iron sights as well as an immediate extended magazine. It was an old fashioned gun, but the quality is legendary. Its bullets pack a punch and are reliable in almost any situation. The extended magazine compensated to the usual 8 bullet margin. This one takes in 22 rounds. Another was a small Walther P22 pistol. Though it was a small gun he could easily modify it as a backup gun for a last resort in case of emergencies.

"I'll also need some smoke and HE grenades, at least half a dozen each." Grin would never know when he'll need those weapons. He might as well have some. "I'll also need a pack .44 bullets as well as for these guns too." Grin said as he gave the weapons for purchasing.

While Rico was getting the purchase together, something caught Grin's eye. On the corner underneath a pile of rifles, Grin found a gun that's somewhat promising. It was a Winchester 1892 Model or the "Mare's Leg" as people called it in the States. Grin didn't mean to be patriotic but he had to admit, it is still one hell of a gun. Grin let the weapon spin from his hand with finesse and looked through the sights, it was in good condition. "Hey Rico. I'll take this one too."

Grin was surprised that there was no waiting time required in purchasing weapons as compared to other cities he's been. He was already been supplied with his weapons, ammo and his grenades with all due haste. The only problem was the payment. They didn't call it the Rip-Off Church for nothing. Grin barely had enough for the entire transaction.

"Thank you for shopping in the Church of Violence. Do come back again soon." Rico said as he shook Grin's hand innocently. He also gave Grin a duffle bag to put his weapons in before heading off. Despite the costs of the guns however, Grin felt satisfied with what he had. All he needed now was a well-paying job to ease his previous disappointment.

Fate had a funny way of answering Grin's calls when he was taken aback when he opened the large wooden doors of the Church. He came face to face with Chinese-American looking woman said while pointing a gun an inch from his head. "I thought I smelled a something familiar the moment I stepped into this dump. Who thought that it'd all come from you?"

Grin could only look back at the statue of Christ and wondered if He was listening the entire time.

* * *

"Revy! What the hell are you doing?" a young and out of place Japanese man said as he exited the car.

"Stay out of this Rock." Revy calmly told her associate. "I've been itching to find this guy ever since last night. The smell of Death and Gunpowder. Just like me." She had an evil smile after that which creeped Grin out a little.

"Since last night…" Rock could remember Revy's eyes the moment she said those words. If that was so, then this man in front of him is just like her. Another natural born killer. "_Just how dangerous is he?" _Rock thought as Goosebumps rolled up his spine. He immediately felt the man's perilous aura.

"Two-hands I presume?" Grin replied casually at the gunman. It doesn't take a genius to tell who the woman was. Everyone talked of a trigger happy dark haired chick with two Cutlass pistols. He wondered what she is capable of.

"The one and only." She smirked. "And you must be the Reaper they've been talking about."

"Yes. Now what's with the gun?" Grin asked. Unfazed by the threat that has befallen him.

"I just wanna know how good the stories say about you. I wanna see what you're made of myself."

"Is that so? Bring it bitch." Grin answered and threw his duffle bag at Revy's face. He longed for a challenge.

While distracted, Grin grabbed Revy's gun from his face and shot off her pistol from her other hand. With a grunt, Revy tackled Grin off the front porch and into the ground. The gun flew from Grin's hand and proceeded to get pummeled by Revy who towered above him. After blocking her attacks and hitting her in turn, Grin managed to push her off of him and kicked hard her while she was on the ground and sent her skidding a few feet. Revy barely stood to look when she blocked a downward blow from Grin which made her legs shake in impact.

Rock ran inside the Church looking for someone to stop the rumble outside. If he doesn't do anything soon God knows what will happen. Rock thought of stopping them himself but thought that he'll get turned down just like the Maid Crisis a while back. He was grateful when he found Eda lying on the couch reading a magazine in one of the rooms.

"Hey Rock, could you tell the people outside to quiet down?" The nun said without taking her eyes off the magazine. "Sister Yolanda is taking a nap and trust me she'll crucify us if she wakes up."

"But Revy and some guy are fighting just outside and we need to stop them." Rock frantically replied.

"Little jealous cuz of some man taking interest in your girl? What does he look like?" Eda snickered under the book.

"What? No. He's a medium sized guy in a dark blue jacket, black hair and wears a gas mask."

"Oh, that'll be Grin the Reaper. He's some badass who just arrived fresh off the boat and a recent customer. He's a weird one huh?" Eda nonchalantly said as she turned another page.

"Aren't you gonna stop them? Or do anything?" Rock asked the nun in disbelief

"Nope. Whatever happens to Revy's not my problem. Pray for a Miracle. Maybe He'll help you out. Now beat it. I'm on my break."

"_Damn this fucker can take a hit!" _Revy thought as she rolled to dodge another hit. She punched him countless times but he never seems to flinch. The man fights in an unknown style and hits with surgical precision. He hits her in her vitals like her kidney, temples and joints to full effect and counters her moves fluidly almost as though he's reading her like a book. "_He has no distinct style but his moves are flawless and brutal" _Revy thought as she did her best to even the odds.

Grin didn't give her a chance for a breath in his last attack and immediately grabbed her by the throat and proceeded to slam her on the pavement and the nearest vehicle. Revy tried her best in freeing herself from the onslaught but whatever she did; the hand wouldn't budge no matter how many hits she gave it. Not even a rock hindered the mask wearing freak's arm.

When she pulled back the jacket, when Grin slammed her again, Revy was surprised to see that the man's entire forearm was a prosthetic. "_No wonder the guy can hit hard. Dirty bastard!" _Revy thought as she was thrown across the courtyard.

"Had enough?" Grin asked as he fixed his sleeve to cover his arm and adjusted his gloves.

"You kidding? I'm just getting warmed up." Revy replied as she wiped off some of her blood from her lips. "Must be hard jacking off with that arm huh? Or do you prefer shoving that thing up your ass you faggot?"

A flying fist soon flew towards her face. Revy barely dodged it due to how unexpected it came out from nowhere. To her surprise it came from Grin's metal arm. This guy is full of surprises. He can launch it from the prosthetic limb at will. Revy barely had time to react when Grin flew towards her by retracting the hand that imbedded itself on the tree behind her.

"You talk too much." Grin said as he made contact and did a brutal clothesline onto Revy.

Breathing heavily and struggling to stand, Revy acted fast and proceeded to attack him strategically with quick jabs. Revy thought that by keeping her distance and hitting fast she could avoid the Freak's deadly arm that took a lot of space to hit effecttively. The strategy worked as Grin couldn't lay a hand on her.

Grin retaliated with a knee kick to the stomach and grabbing Revy again by the throat hoping to repeat his attack that worked so well before. Revy instead used it against him and grabbed his arm and locked him in an armlock with hopes of pining him to submission.

"Cmon motherfucker! See if you can get out of this!" Revy bellowed as she pulled harder

Knowing no other choice, Grin ejects his prosthetic's straps to free himself and kicked Revy hard enough to send her rolling backwards. Before the two brawlers can move in for another row a gunshot was fired hitting the ground between the two.

"Okay now. Break it up you two." A middle aged Chinese man in a trench coat called out. On his hand was a smoking pistol and behind him were 6 men wearing identical black suits.

"Chang?" Revy panted. Her eyes laced with confusion due to the Triad boss's sudden entry "How long were you watching back there?"

"Oh, since the moment you two fought." The Mob boss said with a bright smile. "Got to admit, it was a hell of a good show. Can't wait to watch that again."

"Then why stop it?" Grin asked between breaths as he reattached his arm. So this was the Triad boss. He doesn't look the part though but you can never be too careful.

"Because I got a job for you." The Mob boss replied as he lit up a cigarette. "A job for the both of you actually. I have to admit your little rumble here made it a lot easier to find you both."

"Just a sec there Chang, what do you mean a job for the both of us?" Revy asked in disbelief despite knowing what he'll say next.

"What I mean to say is Two-Hands, the two of you are now officially partners." Chang announced with open arms.

"WHAT?!" Revy and Grin cried in disbelief.


	6. Who is the Reaper

"Goddamn it Dutch." Revy complained, slamming her boot at the metal walls of the Lagoon as it cruised past the sea. "It's bad enough that we get a shitty job on a weekend but to do it with THAT psycho fuck?!"

"Hey Revy, as much as I'd hate to point this out to you AGAIN" said Dutch as he rubbed his temples trying to hold back the stress given to him by Revy's constant rants. It was bad enough that the rendezvous point was far, but Dutch couldn't handle a tantrum as well. Not in his boat. "That 'psycho fuck' will be working with us with this job. He's officially an important asset for this mission. And as for the job, in case you're forgetting, we haven't gotten a good pay day this month and we need the dough."

"Yeah Yeah. You sound like a fucking broken record you know." Revy understands the importance of that mask wearing freak for this mission. She just couldn't stand nor accept having him around. Especially since their first meeting was an exchange of fists and harsh language. Revy was itching for a rematch.

"I'll rip off that Cyclops's arm off then shove that whole thing up his ass." Revy mumbled as she cracked her knuckles. "Then I'll shoot off his other eye then replace it with his balls if he still has em."

"Hey there Two Hands, let's not go off killing a fellow associate." Dutch warned. "Remember what Chang said?"

"Yeah Yeah. He's officially my partner for this job." Revy responded mimicking Chang's voice in a mocking tone. "Well right now he's officially a pain in the ass!"

"Where is he right now?" Dutch asked regarding Grin.

"He's with Rock in the cabins. He looked as though he wants to know the guy more. Probably trying to save another one or some shit like that." Revy said as she lit herself up another smoke.

* * *

Grin occupied himself throughout the trip by looking through the ship's schematics that Chang gave him. The job seems to be more complex than usual based on the info given to him. _"That chink is a hard man to read" _Grin thought. He couldn't tell if the guy is as serious as people say or naïve and stupid. Chang seemed to be too laid back to be a mob boss but his eyes betray that thought. He had an instinct of a natural mob boss. A dangerous one to be sure.

Either way that didn't solve Grin's dilemma of making a plan for the mission. As compared to his reputation in the underworld as a force of nature or a magician in his art, a lot of those took meticulous planning to achieve whether it's a suicide mission or not. So as of late Grin hardly slept for 2 days strategizing their moves and he isn't letting ANYTHING stop him as the day of reckoning comes in a few hours.

"Hey there Grin." a voice came popping up out of nowhere.

"Damn." Grin muttered under his breath. It's that Jap again. What was his name? Stone? No, Rock! "What do you want Rock?" Grin said without turning his face from the plans.

"Oh, uh. I just brought in some lunch since you haven't come out from here since we left." Rock replied and offered him a burrito and a beer. That seemed to catch Grin's attention. He hadn't eaten for a while after all. Why not? He could use a break. He's not sure about the company though.

"Thanks." Grin said. Before he could remove his mask's filter to eat, he noticed that Rock was still there. "Can I help you?"

"Oh nothing" Rock said. "I was just looking at what you were doing back here."

"Yeah. It's a mess." Grin answered. "Anything else?"

Grin doesn't think that this guy's going to leave, much to his discomfort. Grin doesn't do well with private audiences because people don't usually take an interest on him less talk to him about stuff.

"Uhh. Nothing much." Rock answered nervously. Rock was actually quite afraid of the man in front of him. He was looking at him with calm and deadly eyes. He didn't really know what came over him to say hello to or even give the guy lunch this dangerous and unpredictable man. He honestly wanted to leave at that very moment but to his disappointment, the man spoke and said,

"You are not like the others. Aren't you?"

"Huh? W-what?" Rock said. He wasn't really paying attention to the question.

"Your friends. You are not like them." Grin repeated. His beady eye remained on Rock. "They are killers, thieves and criminals. Especially your girlfriend. But not you. Why is that?"

"Well, I…Wait! Revy is NOT my girlfriend!" Rock replied, his cheeks glowing red. Grin however remained indifferent and somehow not convinced.

"Suure." Grin said sarcastically. "Anyway, so you're neither a killer nor a thief. Are you a conman of sorts?"

"Not at all." Rock answered sincerely as he sat down on the opposite chair. "I actually used to be you average salaryman up until I was kidnapped by these guys. Soon I got used to being with them so here I am."

"Hmmm. Stockholm syndrome?"

"Yeah. Kinda. Hehe." Rock laughed awkwardly. To his surprise he heard Grin do some kind of a guttural sound from his mask. Was he laughing?

"Hey! Stop laughing." Rock said embarrassingly.

"Ha! I've met a lot of idiots in my time but you sure make the top." Grin is actually starting to loosen up to this guy. However, he pitied this Jap. The kid has no idea what hellhole he's getting into. "You ain't gonna last rookie. This shitstorm's gonna eat you alive."

"Hey! I've gone through my own share of crazy shitstorms and survived without the use of any gun."

"Really?" Grin was caught off guard by that factor. He expected Rock to be a typical rookie that ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those people end up in the gutters with a bullet in their head on the first day. Grin's began to take interest on the man they called Rock. "Then what are you good for here?"

"I'm good with words. Tried to help some people despite the odds. Survived the worst kinds of hell this kind of world would bring. Aaand I'm also what's keeping this entire group together." Rock answered with a small smile.

Grin said nothing. He had to admit, he's impressed of how far he's gone. He also noticed that Rock managed to keep his sanity as well as his innocence in the underbelly of all hells. Grin felt a bit envious of Rock's preserved humanity.

"And what about you?" Rock asked. "What's your story."

"Me?" Grin took a moment to try to remember. He hadn't thought about his past or himself for a long time. "I just come and go wherever the wind takes me. Leaving behind a few parts as I went. Both theirs…and mine." Grin motioned to his prosthetic arm, making it move a few fingers.

"You know," Rock started to avoid an awkward silence. "That arm of yours actually took me by surprise. And here I thought that you were some superman or something."

"Didn't need this arm to kick your girlfriend's ass." Grin said. "Hell I could'ave fought her blind for all I cared. Hehe."

"For God's sake man." Rock said as his cheeks turned red again. "She's not my girlfriend. We're just…good friends."

"Your words." Grin said in a teasing tone. "Not mine."

"Why do you wear that?" Rock asked after taking a drink of his beer, referring to Grin's gas mask. He was desperate to change the subject. "You're not hiding anything are you? Haha."

"It holds the pain at bay." Grin said as he took a deep breath before unscrewing the tank off so he could eat. "It stays a few minutes or so in my system before disappearing. It's my disability. One of many."

"And when it does?" Rock asked

"Then" Grin answered, pausing as he chewed his meal. He thought of a while about what to say next. He wanted to be careful about what he will say because he is enjoying the company of this odd Japanese man. Rock then saw Grin do a small smile – or a grin – visible from the mask's opening and joked "Then you risk yourself being in the same room as me."

They laughed for a while after that and conversed throughout the rest of the trip. On a personal note, Grin enjoyed hanging out with Rock. Grin appreciated Rock's goodhearted and friendly attitude. It made some form of impact on Grin which is helped him feel accepted and human. He now considered Rock as one of the few he could call a friend.

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the same moment:_

"So what're the deal of this mission of ours anyhow?" She asked as she lit herself another smoke. "I wasn't really paying attention since I had frozen meat at my face during the briefing."

"You never were the kind who listens to briefings either way." Dutch chuckled. "We are here to transport our good friend Grin to the target's ship as well as provide backup in case he needs one."

"I know THAT part. But who's the lucky bastard he's gonna pop?"

"An associate of Chang, or used to be. He's fellow high classed mobster who fell out of our good friend Chang's favor for fucking something up and wants the guy made an example of." Dutch explained "And by example of, meaning Dead. In public."

"The guy is gonna show up somewhere in the East China Sea on a Cruise ship." Dutch continued. "The son of a bitch is throwing a public party. We're gonna swoop in, kill him and then escape before the feds come in.

"That's it? Just one guy on a fucking Cruise ship? I could have handled this shit myself! Why do we need Darth Vader then?"

"Cuz this ain't your regular drive by. The ship the bastard's in may be a Cruise ship but it is a tough nut to crack. There are bodyguards as well as civilians with him so he'll be hard to spot. A little too much for even you to handle. That's why we're gonna let our associate do most of the work while we provide the backup and escape."

"And what makes our good buddy so special that he can take on an army?" Revy asked with a mocking tone.

"Cuz Chang said that Grim is made for all that impossible shit. Chang's confident of his abilities and will do the job well. Let's hope he's right." Dutch answered. He could see in Revy's eyes that she had doubts but Dutch wondered more about who this man on board his ship is. All he could tell was that he had the eyes of a real killer, a too common face of many in Roanapur.

"What did you find out about him, Benny?" Dutch asked his Techy the moment he entered the ship's Bridge. Dutch had Benny do a background check on Grin so that he could tell if he'll be a problem for the safety of his crew or not.

"Uh, well." Benny fumbled through the data he gathered. "So far I got nothing on who the hell this Grin guy is. I got no personal info, no name, no age, and no real picture other than in a mask or even dental records for all I know on the guy."

"What, did he crash down in a farm or something?" Revy asked. Her interest on the subject peaked.

"None that I know. The only info available on Grin is through police records and intercepted mob contracts from various countries. He's wanted in countries from East Europe, Brazil, Southeast Asia and the States by the FBI. Since most of his kills began in the States I could only guess that he's American."

Benny then displayed pictures from his laptop, scrolling pictures of Grin's known exploits and newspaper clippings of victims as he spoke. "Records show that he's been at it for over a decade now so we can guess that he's in his late-20's or early 30's. Body counts confirmed numbered in the unknown hundreds due to the vastness of his operations were. He specializes on assassination, elimination, terrorism, arson and especially on sending clear messages for the powers worked for."

Benny then showed a picture of a burnt out house with a hanging corpse by the veranda. The body was a Latino man and had a cardboard cutout nailed to his chest saying: _Stole from the wrong Guido – the Reaper_

"I can see that the guy has SOME sense of humor behind that retarded mask." Revy chuckled "But where did he get such a weird name like that? Was his mom too stoned to pick a normal one?"

"C'mon now Revy, you have to admit. It is a pretty cool name" Dutch replied.

"Well, before he started wearing that Gas mask of his, rumors said that he had a Chelsea Grin of sorts so the name got stuck. As for _The Reaper _part, he got that cuz of the guy's wicked skills in killing as well as his thing with putting coins in some of the victims' mouths."

"Coins?" Dutch asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Dunno. Why don't you ask him." Benny replied with a shrug.

"Small imagination those cops have." Revy spat. "What the fuck does that have to do with being called the Reaper?"

"It's obvious for someone hardly reads to know this one." Benny joked. Revy then punched him in the shoulder. "Ow. Anyway, in Greek funerals, a coin is placed under the dead's tongue to allow him safe passage in the underworld where they use it to pay the fare. The cops gave him that moniker because of that and since he also closely acted and resembled the Grim Reaper due to the high death toll in his name."

"What a weirdo. Must be a real fugly freak under that mask huh"

"You bet." Benny continued. "The guy also doesn't have a direct calling card for his associates. He instead pops up somewhere at random in some way or somehow without anyone knowing how."

"That must be why the Interpol couldn't catch him after all this time. And they're not the type who'd just sit back and eat donuts" said Dutch.

"That's right. He's a real Keyser Soze*in the underworld. One of many. He just sends out a message or a kill to show that he's in town then gets hired for some jobs, then all hell breaks loose to the ones he starts targeting."

"Well that explains the Red Ship at the Docks a week ago. He's found a new Haven" Dutch said. "Anyway, call everybody in. We've arrived."

* * *

"It's a small boat Revy." Rock complained. "You didn't need to shout."

"Well it takes a while for anything to dig in your head, Rock." Revy growled. She then turned to Grin. "And you, when this is all over we'll settle our score the moment we get back. Ya hear? You and me, one on one. I'll even let you keep that arm of yours. I wouldn't want to hit a fucking cripple."

"Don't count on it Bitch. I won't need it to beat your slutty ass." Grin replied as he popped his neck. "And no fucking china man's gonna fucking stop us this time."

"Totally."

"Now that that's all settled. Let's get down to business." Dutch coolly stated as soon as everyone gathered together and cooled off. He then motioned to Grin. "So What's the plan?"

"Okay then." Grin started. His raspy breathing echoed in the room. He then unfolded the Cruise ship's schematics with the plans written all over it for all to follow and see. "Let's start by…"

* * *

*_The Usual Suspects_ reference


	7. One Hell of a Party

"What's your status Rock." Grin asked him through a microphone.

"Nothing yet so far." Rock replied. He was tasked with recon for the mission as per Grin's plan. It had him blend in with the crowd of civilians since he looked the most normal. Grin was confident that he wouldn't arouse any suspicion as compared to the rest of them.

He snuck in easily on the ship with Grin and Revy. The party and the night covered most of their movements as they disembarked and climbed onto the ship. Dutch and Benny stayed behind in the ship a mile back. Benny will be the lookout on the radio for any cops while Dutch will provide the escape.

"Waiter, get me another glass of champagne will you?" an upper classed businessman called. Much to Rock's chagrin, his façade was that of one of the party's lowly servers that gets ordered about in the party.

Again, it was part of Grin's plan. A waiter would blend in well in the crowd as no one in the higher class would care to notice them. The only problem Rock had with it was that it came from a dead man. Grin broke the poor soul's neck and threw it overboard after stripping it.

"Nice outfit dickwad." Rock remembered Revy saying with a mocking tone. "Looks a lot better than that crappy outfit your always wearing."

"About time you got here." The rude man spoke. "Now piss off." Rock had to admit, it did remind him of his work days in Japan. Back then he was pushed around by his higher ups as well. Who knew that he'd experience THAT again?

"Hey Rock!" A rude voice called out in Rock's earpiece. "I know that you have to pretend and all but could you stick with the fucking program? We got a job to do and I don't want you fucking it up."

"H-hey Rev—" Rock started but got broken up by another line.

"Aren't YOU supposed to be doing something yourself?" Grin interrupted. "How are the bomb's going through?"

"Aren't YOU supposed to talk a little more clearly on the mike? Cuz seriously, I CANNOT understand a fucking word your muffled voice is saying!" Revy answered. She and Grin were tasked with planting smoke and HE explosives in vital parts of the ship as distraction and cover. The bombs were made by Grin himself after another stop at the Church. They were small IED's that could be remotely detonated behind any crack they could reach. "The bombs are set where you wanted them by the way Vader. Gotta knock out a Jackoff from spotting me though. Apart from that, I'm doing well. Over."

"Anything on the radar Benny?" Grin called in. He ignored the insults the best he could. It was weird for him to get annoyed to such bland insults.

"A patrol boat just came passing by a few miles north but none so far." The Techy answered. "You won't be able to make any moves for a while though, over."

"Hey guys." Rock answered. "I heard from the Emcee that the guy we're going for is having a speech coming in. I think that's a good time to get him fast and easy. I'll let you know when it'll start."

"Hey Vader." Revy called in. There was no response. "Grin! I'm done in my end here. When are we gonna start shooting people? I'm getting tired of all this sneaking around bullshit. It's like watching Soccer."

"Do you ever shut up Two Hands?" Grin sighed. He was getting quite frustrated working with her. He swears that if he should ever get another job that requires that blabber mouthed bitch, he'll load all 6 rounds in his gun and hope that one of them goes off on his face.

"No. No she doesn't Grin." Rock replied with a usual and drained tone. "She's always like that to everyone."

"You mean like a total bitch?" Grin replied. "Yeah. No surprises there."

"You know I can hear you two dildos in the radio right?" Revy responded in aggravation. "Dicks."

* * *

On your toes guys." Rock notified the group a few minutes later. "The guy's speech is coming up."

"Alright guys. It's time to roll." Grin called in through the radio. "Get in position."

Rock stayed in the back part of the audience along with the other ship servants. He was given charge of the detonation of the bombs right after Grin makes the kill. It was to provide cover and ensue further chaos in the ship and provide a quick escape for him and the others.

While Grin sneaked about to get into position near the stage where the target will be, Revy went to one of the rooms with a clear vantage point of the deck. She then took out and set up a FAL battle rifle near the window, ready to strike.

"Bout fucking time." Revy said itching for something to finally do. "I'm in position. Ready to bring in hell."

"Let's do this." Grin said to all stations. With everyone in positions, they lied in wait.

The program itself was a boring one at most by Grin's standards. There were individual or group performances by the guests that entertained the guests and the spotlight. He never understood the need of such lavish grandeur over simple things. He just sees it as a celebration of how powerful and deep these guys' pockets are.

"_I think that's why Chang wanted this guy dead"_ Grin thought as the man he is going to kill made his way to the stage. The guy is too public with his life with all the cameras and all. It would have exposed the Triads to the public and even worse, the feds. Grin would feel some satisfaction killing that guy on stage in front of all those cameras. That would make things a lot more interesting.

"Thank you everybody for coming here tonight." The man began his speech in Chinese. Grin took this as his signal and began walking casually from behind the stage. As he made his way, one of the man's bodyguards tried to make him stand to a halt, his hand extending. Grin simply hit the man's hand away and pushed the man hard towards the other men behind, stopping them from halting him. All the while his eye still intended straight at the target.

Time started to slow down after that. He then ascended the stage whilst ignoring anything else. There was nothing else around Grin other than him and the dead man in front of him. The audience and the cameras are soon pointed at that strange man walking towards the host, wondering about who that man is. The host himself was oblivious of it all and never noticed Grin near him until it was too late. Before anyone could react, Grin then grabbed the man from behind his neck with his Right hand then stabbed through the man's back with his Left, blood gushed out from the stage and into the faces of the unsuspecting audience.

Grin ripped through the man like cardboard as his bloody left hand emerged from his chest like an Alien. Screams and panic erupted from the audience as they saw Grin break the man's neck before dropping him on the floor. Some of the audience was hurling their dinners onto the floor.

Rock couldn't believe what he saw. He almost forgot what he was supposed to do next due to the effort it took to stop him from hurling himself. Rock managed to pull himself together thankfully and pressed the detonator. The sides of the ship exploded in a fury of shrapnel and flame while the windows shattered and smoke covered its view. The people were in chaos as they tried to find their footing and sense to what has just happened. Even Rock couldn't believe it himself. Everything he knew about his friend Grin disappeared.

Revy reacted with surprise after what she saw Grin do to the target. She nonetheless managed to snap herself out of it and begin shooting off the bodyguards and armed guests. She did well in covering Grin who began shooting off people himself from the stage without even taking cover. The chaos seems to disrupt the thugs' aim.

"That guy has SOME balls" Revy muttered to herself. She hated herself for admitting it.

"Thank you." She heard Grin answer. Shit! She forgot that her radio was still on.

"Whatever." She answered back. "The explosives just went off. Now let's get the fuck out of here. I'll go get Rock."

"Wait."

"What the fuck do you mean wait? The job's done for Christ's sakes."

"No it isn't." Grin replied. The voice paused for a second as more gunshots were heard. "This guy's just a double. The real one's still alive."

"God Damn it! You mean he's not here?" Revy answered back furiously as she unleashed a long volley of rounds. "But we heard Rock say that the real guy is here the entire night."

"I thought so too." Grin took cover behind the podium to reload. "He probably switched with the double since he was exposing himself."

"He also couldn't have escaped." Revy answered. "All the lifeboats were all blown up."

"I thought I saw something weird when I saw him before the speech." Rock answered out of the blue. "A group of his men were bunched up behind the stage and went inside the cabins. They probably went to the safest place in the ship. His Room at the top floor."

"That's our best bet." Revy replied. T

"You get their attention down there Grin." Revy called in "while I go around and take out the bastard myself."

"Go." That was all Grin could say due to the intensity the gunmen fired after the smoke cleared. They were surrounding him from all sides, flanking and prevented him from moving.

Two men started climbing the stage as Grin was reloading his pistol. With no time to spare, he took out his Winchester from his back and shot one round at the intruders. The slug was so powerful that it tore through the man's chest and into the other guy, making them fall off stage. With that section cleared, Grin made his move and jumped off the stage to the enemy's flank. He started shooting precisely at the enemy on their sides with both guns as he used the tables and plants in front of him as cover. Grin spun the lever-action shotgun before firing slugs that tore through the weak cover.

* * *

The moment Revy ended communications with the others; two gunmen abruptly broke into the room. They fired relentlessly at Revy who was forced to abandon her rifle and jump behind the bed to cover. The feather's that flew all over the room prevented the gunmen from seeing Revy lying on the floor on the foot of the bed. She fired at their feet and onto their heads with ease before running out the door looking for her objective.

Revy encountered fewer gunmen on her side of things as compared to the bloodbath in the deck. It didn't make it that easier either however. The narrow corridors as well as the panicking civilians allowed lesser movement for Revy to dodge the shots and make shoot properly herself. Luckily for her, it was the same for the enemy too but unlike her they were everywhere.

She took it however as a sign that whenever more and more gunmen started popping out from their rooms. It was a sign that she was getting closer to home base, just like the video games. Revy shot most of the ones running towards her at ease. It reminded her a little bit of the Nazi's she killed in a previous job. They were like fish in a barrel for her.

* * *

"Over here!" Rock called out from behind a corner. Grin barely made it to where he was before the thugs filled the air with lead. When the gunfire lessened, Rock then pulled at Grin and made way towards the inner corridors of the ship. They kept their heads down while moving from the ricocheting bullets whereas Grin fired back. They managed to take refuge by the kitchen area of the ship, away from the open field. They were safe for the time being.

"You called in Dutch yet." Grin asked as he reloaded his guns.

The cloth covering his right eye was blown away during the firefight. Rock was shocked to find that part of his face as an empty hole with long scratches on his side. It scared him of Grin even more.

"Y-Yea. The Lagoon's on its way. Dutch said he'll be here in a minute" Rock said before he curled up to avoid getting shot. Amidst the ricocheting bullets, he noticed that Grin had multiple flesh wounds all over his body. "You're shot! There's blood all over."

"I don't have time to bleed." Grin replied and started shooting back. "Be useful." Grin tossed him a gun.

"I...I can't. I'm not good with guns." Rock said. He never fired a gun in his entire life and he didn't want to start now. "I..I…"Grin then grabbed Rock by the collar and placed him in front of the shootout.

"Shoot or die. You're choice." Grin commanded.

Grin already made his the moment he stood up and walked into the lead storm. He launched his metal hand that grabbed a gunman and then pulled him back. Grin used the man as a shield that ate most of the bullets that came and fired back whilst moving to a nearby column and firing back.

Rock was petrified at the strain of all the events that had occurred that night. It was all too unreal. He didn't want to kill anyone. But he didn't want to die either. Not in here. Not yet. So he held his breath, aimed out to the open, then squeezed the trigger.

* * *

"So that's where you're hiding." Revy snickered as she saw the remaining gunmen retreat to a room at the end of the hall.

"Keep running you fucking little piggies!" Revy yelled with glee as she shot at them. "The Big bad wolf is coming in!"

Revy tried kicking the door down a couple of times but it didn't budge by a bit. She then heard a clicking sound from the other side which made her run for cover. Bullets then started to fly out from those doors, blanketing the hallway with a barrage of lead.

Thankfully for Revy's sake, she managed to barge in to an empty room just in time to avoid being turned to mincemeat. The moment the barrage stopped, she bolted towards the severely weakened doors. The doors fell easily and showed the exposed gunmen in surprise. She shot them down one by one without hesitation until all that was left was the Chinese mobster.

"Wha-what d-do y-y-you want?" The man asked as he hid behind his desk, pissing himself in fear. The man wasn't as imposing as she was expecting for a Triad mob boss. He was just a shriveled up little yellow prick that everyone's afraid of being with.

"What the fuck? You're the guy that's taking a long hard time to kill?" Revy said with a raised eyebrow in incredulity and confusion. "Hell, you're not even worth my time! No wonder Chang wants you dead! You're a fucking embarrassment to the Triads!" She started shooting the table in fury, missing the man's fingers by an inch. The man then fell on the floor crying his eyes out.

"Hey, show some backbone." Revy was starting to feel sorry for the poor bastard. "C'mon, show some dignity before dying wills you? You little fuck"

"Revy!" Dutch called in through her radio "Finish the goddamn job and get into the fucking boat already." Sounds of bullets whizzing past and windows breaking were heard. The Lagoon was taking fire from all sides and they needed to get out fast. He and Grin did their best in killing off some of the gunners but the boat couldn't handle more stress.

"Okay. Fiiiiine."Revy complained and then made a long sigh before pulling the trigger on the coward Chinaman's face. "Meet me at the lower starboard side. Give me 20 seconds."

She then bolted out of the room with haste. Fire spread all over the ship turning it into a blazing inferno. People scrambled all over the hallway while Revy bawled passed. She fired a few shots into the air to scare the people from getting on her way. She then jumped out of the window from an opposing room and managed to land safely into the escape boat.

"She's in. Let's go." Rock yelled. The Lagoon then sped out fast into the darkness of the sea leaving behind a swirling inferno of death and chaos.

* * *

No one spoke throughout the remaining trip back to the city. Everyone was clearly exhausted based on the unexpected turn of events. Dutch was focusing on the sea and Benny was watching the Radar for any potential trackers. Grin was back at his cabin alone patching and cleaning himself up of blood, both the enemy's and his own. Rock and Revy in the other hand fell asleep next to each other in the hall. The others let them stay there because they looked adorable. Benny even took the moment to photograph the scene. They all soon got to their feet the moment they arrived back to the docks in Roanapur.

"Well. That could have gone better." Dutch said while keeping his usual cool attitude. "But I'm glad that it ended well. You did a good job tonight Grin." He held an open hand to him.

"The pleasure is all mine." Grin replied and shook Dutch's hand. "You and your team did their jobs well. I couldn't have done it all without you."

"Hey if you need any help with other jobs give us a call." Rock said. Dutch nodded in approval as well. He considered the jobs they'll work with Grin to be worth it. Despite some shortcomings of course.

"I'll keep that in mind." Grin replied with a nod. "You have something to say Two Hands?"

"Nothin much." Revy replied with a shrug. She was hesitant from complimenting Grin for the success of the job. She gives him credit for that.

Revy had to admit it to herself; Grin earned some degree of her respect. She started to appreciate him as a coworker and his skills in the field. She wanted to say all that in a way but, Revy being Revy, she doesn't work well with making people feel good about their selves.

"Okay then." Grin replied as he unstrapped his metal arm and let it drop to the ground. He then prepared himself into a fighter's stance "Are you ready for that rematch? A deal's a deal after all."

"Haha. Fuck Yeah!" Revy answered with a cruel and sadistic smile. "I almost forgot. Ready to get your ass handed to you again Vader? Or you want to wait for a while til you grow a pair?"

"You wish." Grin replied.

The two beat up brawlers then came beating each other up like wild animals and fought long and hard til the sun came up. Rock and the others however looked on in obvious surprise and confusion as to what the hell was going on. What came most in their mind was what kept these two going.

* * *

Write down in the comments who YOU think would win in the end of the fight and why. Stay tuned for more Grin The Reaper.


	8. Finding a calling

"AAAAAaaaaaagghhh!" the man awoke in pain, struggling for breath. He looked fast around him and saw only darkness in front of him. He was confused and lost in thought for a while.

He soon found himself naked and shackled to the ceiling with his hands behind his back. The coldness of the chains bit through what was left of his flesh. Blood covered most of his vision. The lights were dim, faint and daunting. The air he struggled to breathe was dry and tasted of blood, and the agony gave him no pause whatsoever to think.

A sound then reached his ear. It was the sound of heavy breathing. Like the one that could be heard from a person. Only then did he remember. Despite his limited vision, he recognized the figure that stood in front of him. To his horror that he couldn't even speak, in front of him stood the Reaper himself.

"Glad to have you back." Grin said behind his infamous mask. "I didn't think it is your time as of yet." He then walked away back to the table behind him and skimmed through his tools.

It was only then did the man remember everything clearly. The Mafia brought him to the room after being kidnapped by them in the streets. He remembered Ronnie "The Jaws" himself being there. They were questioning him of his actions against them, beating him and pointed a gun to his head as they did, but said nothing.

The man thought that he was about to get away since they needed him more alive than dead. He also wasn't about to break anytime soon. Oddly though, Ronnie did his infamous deadly smiles and allowed a new character in the room before leaving himself and his men. The man vividly remembered the dread that crept his spine when he approached.

The Reaper said nothing while it tied him in chains and raised him from the ground. It said nothing the entire time when it stripped his flesh and tortured him without hesitation or pause. It never even pay attention for any of the answers the man gave him regarding the drug deals, the whistleblowing, bribery or even where he hid the money he stole from the Mafia. The man simply responded in silence with a deep raspy mechanical breathing and continued his work. The man said no more after that. Only screams of pain and agony continued afterwards. The man could only guess that the man didn't even care about him or his crimes. It seems that he was only there for hell.

"Wha-what more do you want from me?" The man cried. "I t-told you everything."

"I couldn't care less about what you know." Grin replied and didn't bother to look at the man as he answered. "That is the Mafia's problem. Not mine."

Grin had to admit that he was impressed with what the man had to offer. He has been torturing the man for over an hour and yet he retains his sanity and will. He was curious to know how the man lasted longer than usual.

Grin tore through the man's legs. He stripped it of its flesh then slowly stripped the man's muscles tissue by tissue leaving only bone afterwards. He then sealed the wounds with a torch then stitched the flesh back. The pain was unbearable for the man who stood vigil and screamed his lungs out throughout the procedure. Most would have lost their mind and be babbling fools after a practice such as that. But this one simply passed out.

"_Did it have something to do with the man's will_?" Grin thought for a moment. "_Strength? Brains? Or could have been the drugs. Yeah, probably just the drugs._"

He shrugged off at the thought and proceeded with his experiments. This time, he heated up half a foot long nails and begun slowly inserting them into the man. Some of the nails he injected on the man's back that was pierced through the man's arms that were tied behind his back. The man shook and squirmed through the pain, pissing himself in the process and screamed as the nails stabbed and burned him.

"Damn you." Ervin whispered in his breath, giving in to his fate and accepted his death that drew near.

"I'm glad you could still talk." Grin spoke as he heated up another nail with the torch. His voice was indifferent and frightening that chilled his spine. Grin rather enjoyed the screaming. He preferred hearing the person's reaction through his experiments. "I made sure that the nails are hot enough to cauterize the wounds. It prevents internal bleeding." He wanted to see if the body could rewire its blood vessels when its major arteries were covered up. As far as his experiments went, he hadn't tried that one.

"The human body is an interesting specimen." It continued, pacing around its work as it talked. It twirled a sharp knife playfully around its fingers slowly approaching him. "It never ceases to amaze me. How I'd love to find out more."

"Kill me already."

"It is not my job to kill you." The Reaper said as he grabbed the broken man's jaw roughly. The man could feel the Reaper's cold dead hands and saw its eyes glistening with intrigue. "Death has no claim of you just yet. But they have."

The heavy metal doors of the room then opened and light broke out into view. It unsettled Ervin's eyes as it got used to the dark in such a short time.

"Ey Reaper! You about done 'ere?" a slick blonde haired Mafioso spoke. He spoke with a heavy Italian-American or Bronx accent and had braces that sparkled in the light. Ervin didn't need to see the man to tell that he was Ronnie "the Jaws". The Head of the Thai branch of the Sicilian Mafia. "It's getting late now and I gots a date dis evening. 'E ready to talk or what?"

With a silent nod in agreement he cut the chains with one swipe. The body fell with a thud and a grunt. Ervin was too exhausted to complain. The Mafia boss then motioned at two of his guys to move the body to another room for questioning.

"Jesus Christ." One of the henchmen said doing his best not to hurl. "This is worse than what those Twins cooked up last time."

"Put a cork in it Moletti." Ronnie chastised him as they passed him. His eye changed from carefree to murderous at an instant. "Else I have our friend Grin here do ya next."

"Yes boss. Sorry."

"Anyway. Your money's waitin for ya upstairs." Ronnie told Grin with a quick pat in the back. "You've been a big help for me today. Catch ya later then pal."

* * *

A minute passed before Grin left the premises, a gunshot rung throughout the corridor. He had no qualms about the poor soul dying. Death had her claim of him as would pass in nature. Grin only regretted not getting to experiment more on the man more before the Mafia barged in spoiling his fun.

Despite all that, Grin was satisfied however of the pay. He is a hired man after all. He had been receiving jobs steadily for the past few weeks so the money wasn't much of a problem. He managed to move out of the old piece of shit motel and into one of the more secluded but more livable apartment in the south side. The one of many safe houses he purchased discreetly. He did so out of his own protection and to avoid any more potential spies that he had from his previous employers. As much as anything else, Grin preferred his privacy.

After hiding his money from the apartment and changing out of his stained clothes, he made his way out of the city for a meal and a drink. Grin helped himself with a fine meal in a secluded part of a restaurant then soon after made his way to a random bar nearby. He ordered his usual hard whiskey and drank it in deep draughts.

While Grin finished his drink he began to notice something. He began to notice that he has been doing the same thing repeatedly every day whenever he had nothing to do after a job. Grin began to realize that he had no life beyond being the Reaper. There was no life for Grin.

Grin was always aware of that thought but he always forgets it whenever he was in the moment of the thrill. The thrill to kill as he puts it. It was a sad life beyond the normalcy. It can get tedious and boring at any time.

Grin then decided that he needed some fresh air to help clear his mind – and his alcohol. He walked in the dark alleyways alone with his thoughts swimming in his head going who knows where. His muffled mechanical breath was the only sound echoing past the misty walls. It wasn't long before a shuffling of steps soon begun and a mugger came out from a corner with a gun.

"Hey ugly! Give me your-urk!" the man choked blood out of his mouth. Grin held the man's throat with his metallic hand and crushed his windpipe effortlessly. Grin looked into the man's eyes as it soon turned white he managed to fire a round before falling limp before dropping it to the floor. The man ended up kneeling on the ground with his face pointed to the sky with a broken neck.

On his way out of the alley, Grin noticed a faint hissing sound coming from his coat. To Grin's displeasure, the bullet managed to hit his last reserve of gas. The bullet that ricocheted from the wall when the man fired must have hit him there. Though Grin was glad that he literally managed to dodge a bullet, he was in a bad position when he runs out of gas in an hour or so. He didn't want to have a seizure in the middle of the streets at night. Especially not in a city of Roanapur.

* * *

"Just a block left" Grin thought as he fast walked down the streets. He was doing his best to control his breathing as to avoid losing any more of the gas he had left. "God damn I wish I bought me a motorcycle."

He arrived to his usual hospital soon after. Its white painted walls were all dirtied up with rust, yellowed with piss and tagged with multiple graffiti. It may look like a dump for most, but it was the only place good enough where Grin bought his stock of his daily anesthetic gas.

"Hello there again Grin." The old cantankerous Doctor called. He passes by there once a week and made good rapport with its workers despite the usual uneasiness of the introduction. The only person who he got along there was the aging Head Doctor Miura. Apart from him there were only 3 other staff members in the hospital: There was Clara the nurse, Jeff and Terry the assistants. They were odd people but good people. It seems like, apart from the Lagoon Company, Grin managed to find some acceptance in this group. "Let's talk in my office."

"Doc." Grin nodded as he entered the premises. The other staff members nodded in welcome with a hint of small smiles. They have gotten used to Grin's presence in the hospital and begun a stable rapport with the killer.

"Didn't expect you here this early, man." Terry said with an open hand in greeting. "You used up what the doc gave you for the week?"

"Yeah. Looks like it." Grin replied and shook hands with the young African lad. "Had a rough week. My last can got shot out of shit on my way out of the bar."

"Hehe. Well, Roanapur is that kind of bitch. I'll get Jeff to get you a new batch. Just stay put."

"I still don't understand how you could handle large doses of those, Grin my boy." Dr. Miura said as he hobbled towards Grin to get a better look at him. "You are quite the piece of work. Most would die with that poison of yours."

"Well, most aren't like me Doc." Grin shrugged. "I learn to live with it."

"So it seems." Miura smiled. He was no less pretty showing his teeth to him. The man seemed to be in worse condition than Grin himself as a dead man. Yet here he still stands. "I can't wait to look into that anytime soon."

A high pitched screaming abruptly broke the peaceful environment of the hospital. Grin and the doctor heard the sound and made their way to the lobby where the mess came from. The sound of tables was overturned and signs of struggle echoed along the corridors as it happened.

When the two men arrived they saw that the hospital was being ransacked by 6 men. They had the look of druggies desperate for a hit as they were raiding the pantry for medicine and drugs. Some of the men were beating up on Terry who was on the ground while others were looting the registers. Clara managed to hide under the table and cowered in fear. One of the raiders started walking towards the doctor, his gun pointed at the ready.

"Goddamn junkies!" The doctor cursed. With lightning speed, he raised his cane at the junkie and blasted him with a slug that tore a 5 inch hole on the man. "You fucked with the wrong doctor."

The other men noted the new threat and aimed their guns at him and fired at the aging doctor. With quick reaction, Jeff managed to push the doctor out of the way and into safety. While the junkies were distracted and shot from one side, Grin appeared out of nowhere and made his move.

Grin grabbed one of the men from behind and threw him to the ceiling towards the lights. While the man was being electrocuted, Grin caught the man's gun and killed one of the junkies with a shot to the head. Jeff managed to kill off a man himself with a pistol. A large brute of the man came out of nowhere and tackled Grin and pinned him to the ground. One of the junkies started kicking Grin while the gorilla of a man pummeled him in the face.

Grin had no weapon to counter this dilemma, but thank what god there is there that he still had his arm. He aimed at the man's crotch and launched his fist, sending the man flying across the room in pain. While Grin was recoiling his metal hand, he had it grab a syringe from the ground and stabbed it in the large man's eye. As the man screamed in pain, Grin kicked him off of him and punched him to unconsciousness.

Something odd started in Grin as soon as he got his footing back. Time started to slow around him and a strange sensation crawled all over him. Pain abnormally escaped throughout his body despite Grin not being harmed in any way. An earth shattering punch from the returning brute made him realize the reason. He was out of gas and potentially fucked.

Grin was in trouble as he crawled in the ground being kicked by the large brute. The seizures from the pain prevented him from any respite against his opponent. The large man seemed to notice this and took advantage of this and threw him across the room.

Grin struggled to retain his senses and tried to survive the beating. Every hit felt like his own bones were breaking and the heat, intense. He hated this man. He wanted to kill him just to even out the pain and his anger.

With a fury, Grin began punching wildly and full of bloodlust as he did. He managed to defeat the brute with a hand launched uppercut that blew up the man's head in a shower of gore. The last remaining junkie saw the futility of his position and made a run out of the hospital. Grin ran after the man and tackled him to the window. He then started smashing the man's head to the glass till it shattered, breaking the man's head in turn. After finishing the deed, Grin finally collapsed in pain and fell unconscious.

A familiar taste soon came across his mouth and the pain disappeared along with it. His eyes soon met with the innocent eyes of a very frightened young nurse.

"Mr. Reaper. Please, we need your help." Clara frantically pulled Grin to his feet and saw the problem. Dr. Miura was shot in the chest during the firefight. "We try to apply pressure in wound but we not know how to save doctor. Please. We need your help"

"Come with me. We'll operate on him." Grin ordered the rookie staff. "Terry. Jeff. Bring the bodies down to the basement and call in a cleaner to fix all this up."

Grin carried the old doctor to the closest operating room while the nurse brought with her the tools needed for the operation. Grin was no licensed doctor, but he was well versed when it comes to human bodies. Apparently, all those torturing and experiments gave him enough ideas on how bodies work let alone fix them.

The amateur surgeon strapped the old man to the bed to prevent any risk while cutting. A large dose of anesthesia was applied to lessen the strain on the old man. Using a scalpel, he dug open the flesh around the wound, widening it for the bullet. With some difficulty, he applied the tweezers as he inserted it to the wound fishing for the bullet.

The nurse did her best to hold down the old man as the pain was beginning to become unbearable for him. Despite that setback, Grin managed to successfully take hold of the bullet. More blood came gurgling out of the wound the moment Grin took the bullet out intact. Thinking fast, Grin grabbed a thin piece of metal and heated it up with his lighter. He then used it to cauterize the wound entirely then bandaging, thus saved the doctor.

"Thank you." Whispered the old man, showing his missing teeth with a smile.

This was the first time Grin had ever intentionally saved a life and of all people, it was this old man who could die at any minute. It was quite odd indeed for Grin, he the Reaper, the killer and brutal psychopath just prevented another soul for Death his master. He then realized that this was Grin the person who did this and not the Reaper. There was more to him than the mask. Grin liked this discovery. Saving lives and such. He also just realized that he found himself a new hobby in between.

"You alright with me sticking around here old man?" Grin asked the crabby old man. The old geezer simply nodded in agreement. "Good enough."

"Hey Grin!" Terry came into the room fast. He took a brief moment to smile and find the old doctor doing well. "One of the junkies is still alive. Should we kill him?"

"No." Grin replied. No one could tell, but Grin smiled inside his mask. What a perfect opportunistic day it is for him. One good news after the other. "Tie him to a table downstairs. I'll take 'good' care of him."

* * *

**A/N: **Review and tell me what you think in this new turn of events.

Always wanted to be a doctor due to my keen interest with bodies as well as morbid imagination. Most of what you've read I tried on "certain creatures" and some research so pardon for the faint hearted.

Stay tuned for more


	9. Surprises

The hospital is a ghost town especially during the night shift. The lack of human presence didn't help the hospital's creepiness that emerged from its already dilapidated state. Barely anyone would also come barging through those doors for help THIS late in the evening.

Grin then decided to not waste any more time and take advantage of the solitude. He went down the elevator to the basement where he really worked and started to set up his tools for his next experiment. A large metal freezer was opened and let out a fresh mist of cold that engulfed the room. Inside laid a trembling man who was close to freezing and not far from death. Grin pulled him out easily and tied him on the table and began cutting the man up and see if frozen tissue would be easier to amputate. Being half-dead from the cold didn't stop the man from screaming.

The satisfaction was cut short when a knock came from the basement backdoor and made Grin overshoot his knife. He accidentally cut the man's jugular vein. The detained victim could only watch his blood poured all over the floor.

"The one time I get in the zone they come fucking knocking." Grin cursed under his breath. "Fucking Cleaners."

Even before Grin started working in the hospital, the Cleaners always come by and collect the leftover body parts the doctors sawed off. The body counts however rose exponentially during Grin's employment due to the "experiments" commits to every night. The necessity for Cleaners has been more vital ever since.

As he opened the door Grin was surprised to come face to face to an unfamiliar sight. In front of him was short person wearing goggles and a surgical mask. It WAS a Cleaner but not one that Grin knew. The new Cleaner also had a large chainsaw strapped to its back.

"You're new. Where's the other guy?" Grin eyed the newcomer.

The person didn't answer. It instead dug into its pockets and took out an Ultravoice. The Cleaner placed it to its scarred throat and spoke in a ghastly electric voice of a female.

"**Dead… took…over his…shift. Pleasure to meet you….Reaper"** the Cleaner nodded

"Sawyer the Cleaner?" Grin replied skeptically. He heard about a mute Cleaner who works with a chainsaw. "I expected you to be taller."

"**Go Fuck yourself…" **Sawyer replied with an irritated gesture.

"Ooookay then," Grin awkwardly replied to the mute. He pointed to the freezer where the bodies are kept before going back to work. The ice around the test subject was beginning to melt and the blood was still gushing so he had to move fast. His hand though hovered above his scalpel and torch but wondered how the little Cleaner girl would carry all those bodies alone?

To his surprise the Cleaner had no problem moving the bags herself. She had the appearance of doing the job for a long time and was used to it. The Cleaner then left the premises once the job was done without another word. Grin noticed that there was more to this person than what it showed.

_I used to know a Sawyer once, _Grin thought as he went back to his victim. _But she sure wasn't a bitch like this one. That's for sure._

* * *

Thunderous footsteps from the ceiling abruptly woke Grin up the next day. The sounds of shouting came echoing through the vents soon after. The clock above him state's 2:38pm. Despite being in the confines of the hospital, he was still late. Grin could only imagine the sermon the old man Miura would give him.

"Time to work Grin!" The old man said as he threw him his surgical scrubs and a medical mask the moment Grin exited the elevator.

"Why do I have to wear this again?" Grin complained after the uniform was flung to his face.

"People are scared of doctors already." Dr. Miura chortled with his trademark smile. "I don't want you scaring them anymore than they already are." The old man then limped away down the hall.

Grin eyed the old man with malice. He would have preferred to let the man die than succumb to this humiliation. As much as he enjoyed being a doctor and finding a stable job, he hated wearing the uniform. It made him look stupid due to its looseness. Grin couldn't even wear his gas mask and instead wear a simple medical mask. An hourly dose of anesthetics helped take out the pain but it always left him with some uneasiness. It didn't however degrade his skill as a surgeon thank god. And in place of his eye patch cloth he had to wear tinted goggles which was the only part he liked about the uniform.

"You mind telling me though who the loudmouth was who just came in?" Grin called out before Dr. Miura was out of distance.

"Oh him?" Dr. Miura scratched at his balding head. "Just some banged up mob boss Lobos dragged in from the Church." He started laughing under his mustache and slapped at his knee. "The stupid bastard started a fucking gunfight there and got his ass handed to them! HAHAHAHA!" The doctor kept laughing hysterically and continued down the hall.

"Crazy bastard the both of them." Grin cursed before changing out of his outfit.

* * *

Grin came across the new patient's room during his rounds in the hallway. There were 2 bodyguards posted by the door. A man with an unusual fashion sense and style exited the patient's room. The man looked like a wannabe cowboy that people see in in casinos. The very sight of him made Grin cringe.

"You look like a hard hitter." The cowboy called out to Grin with a southern accent. "How'd you like to work with us for easy money?"

"How much?" Grin asked.

"A $1000. How about it? Just gonna get back an Indian girl" The man replied with a proud face

"Not interested." Grin walked past the man without looking back. As boring as a slow day was for Grin in the hospital, he wouldn't work for something as cheap as that. He has standards after all. "Come back with more dough, then we'll talk"

"Don't you turn your back on me!" The man growled and grabbed Grin by the shoulder. Grin reacted fast and seized the man's hand and twisted before pinning him to the wall.

"You however, I'd kill for free." Grin whispered without looking back at him. He let the man go with a shove and had him fall to the ground. The cowboy left the premises with his tail between his legs.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent loitering and waiting for no one til the sun already set. Grin was equally unlucky. The one time that no one came by the hospital was the same day he didn't have any contracts. Most of which were spent in the lounge where the rest of the staff stayed and chilled. They had their own animated conversations amongst each other but Grin had no part of it. He mostly kept to himself in the basement and proceeded with his experiments.

The faint scent of a familiar odor emitted suddenly in the air while Grin worked. It was the smell of smoke with a sensation of death. He ceased his activities and made his way topside.

"Is something burning?" Grin asked the staff when he arrived to the lounge.

"Yeah." Terry replied. He motioned to the window where they all saw a bright fire emanating a few blocks ahead at the docks. It was a burning building. The smoke was immense that it almost covered the star lit sky. The sound of faint gunfire echoed through the streets.

"That's the Lagoon Company building burning isn't it?" Jeff said after looking through his binoculars.

"That it is." Grin said. "Those poor bastards."

"Who? The Lagoon?"

"I'm talking about the guys raiding it." Grin confidently stated. He knows that the Lagoon Company could handle a simple fire. _They just got back from Japan and already they've burnt half the city down._

"Well then children," Dr. Miura cracked his knuckles. "It's time to get to work."

"Work?" Jeff asked with a stupid look. "Why?"

"Cuz of people get injured in large fires. They'll come running to us." Dr. Miura assured. "They'll be here shortly."

True to his word, it didn't take long before a large group of wounded goons came barging through the hospital doors. The damage on these people was horrendous. Burnt flesh, missing limbs and bleeding wounds littered the lobby all asking for help. As would the starving would run to the dinner bell, Grin and the staff jumped into action.

The entire evening was spent on accommodating the wounded that came pouring into the hospital. The rooms were all occupied and all the equipment was in use. The sheer enormity of the situation made the staff require the assistance of the patients who were strong enough to stand. Amputation seemed to be the usual medical doctrine in hospitals of these parts. Most of the patients checked in with mutilated limbs from small arms fire and/or explosives. Grin could hardly keep track of the shrapnel, bullets and limbs he tore out of people that night. Some just required treatment on their burns or regular stitches but some still required immediate surgery. Others however died where they stood and thus was carried by a wagon to the basement.

Everyone laughed at the irony of a dull day turning into a hectic evening. Even Grin took part of the humor. In his own morbid way was entertained by how he was patching people effectively due to his less than subtle "experiments" that made him improve exponentially.

The last ones to arrive that night were different from the rest as they made an odd sight. There were 3 of them in all. The first was a man with silver hair wearing shades and a large trench coat. He was carrying a Chinese woman wearing an elaborate outfit holding a pair of _kukri_ blades. She was bleeding from heavy gunshot wounds. The other was a small young girl wearing gothic attire but she kept her face hidden in a fetal position. The man appeared to have dragged the latter.

"Can I help you?" Grin approached as he gave himself another shot of painkillers.

"Yes if you will." The silver haired man replied in a stylish manner. "I am the great Lotton 'The Wizard' and we have just come from a battle of epic proportions that left us all scarred. My good lady friend here requires the upmost—"

"I got it." Grin interrupted as he noticed that the Chinese woman was about to lose consciousness. The woman couldn't survive another monologue.

"Jeff! Clara! Get over here!" Grin called at the loitering staff. "Jeff, take—" Grin snapped his fingers at Lotton.

"Uh, Shenhua." Lotton replied

"Shenhua to the operation room. Give her some sedatives, douse her with alchohol then start taking out those bullets then stitching. Carefully this time."

"Roger Wilco." Jeff smothered his smoke by the window. He then started to move the woman to the emergency room.

"Clara," Grin turned to the sheepish girl. "Go to the blood bank and prepare a bag of Type O+ since she's Chinese. And don't pass out at the sight of it again."

The young girl gave a curtly nod and made her way out. Grin was caught off guard by the authority he held over the staff and he felt that they opened up to him as well after this night. Before Grin could excuse himself and go to the other patients the other girl with Lotton was still in a fetal position on the corner.

"Uh, what's wrong with her?" Grin asked with a raised eyebrow. "It doesn't look like she's been shot."

"She wasn't as far as I know" Lotton replied. "She just happened be like that when I found her. I think it started when she lost her Ultravoice because I don't see it with her anymore."

"Ultravoice?" Grin realized that this girl is Sawyer 'the Cleaner'. It was the same little Cleaner who passed by yesterday. He tried moving her arms so as he could check up on any injuries and wounds. He was also curious with what she looked like under her mask. All he got from the Goth girl in turn was tears and a stubborn attitude.

"Melancholia. Just give her some antidepressants then she'll be alright for a while." Grin told Lotton. He gave up on prying her open since he had no time to waste on an uncooperative person. Turning to Sawyer, Grin said, "Come by whenever you're better and less stubborn for a check-up." Grin said no more to the two and went back to work with the other patients.

* * *

The hospital finally managed to quiet down after a while. The patients were all stabilized and the only work left was to clean up the mess that was left behind. Everyone expected the excitements to have ended by then but it showed itself differently after a last visitor arrived.

"Looks like you all had overtime tonight." Boss Chang commented after observing the muddle that was yet to be cleaned. "You'd put Auschwitz to shame with this mess."

The entire staff stood thunderstruck at the appearance of the Triad boss. None dared to think or say anything of why he has come to them at this hour. They could only guess that someone was going to die that night due to the number of men the boss man had with him.

"What are you doing here Chang?" Grin said as he entered the room. He was wearing his gas mask again since there were no more patients to attend but still in uniform since there was more work to be done. He kept the tinted goggles though.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Chang replied. "You work here now?"

Grin simply nodded in approval.

"HA! That's a laugh. You are a match with Rock when it comes to weirdness." Chang said in an amused tone. "Remind me to give him a call Biu whenever I'll need a checkup. Hahahaha!"

"What are you doing here Chang?" Grin repeated.

"We are here for a man named Elvis who we heard was staying here. Don't worry though, we aren't gonna do anything to you since you're just doing your jobs. But we are gonna make him disappear because of all the trouble he caused us tonight. You of all people would understand this right?"

"Yes." Grin replied. "But we can't give him to you."

"Do you mind bringing that by me again?" Chang said with a solemn tone. The men behind him took out their weapons on queue.

"Just a company policy." Grin crossed his arms and remained calm and adamant. The atmosphere started to become more intense between the two men. The other staff members could not say a word due to the tension. "That man Elvis, despite being a pain in the ass, is under OUR jurisdiction and thus cannot be touched by you or other powers without our consent. We can't have our own reputation be tarnished by having someone tell us what to do? And don't think that I'm intimidated by your guns. I've dealt with plenty worse." Grin cracked his knuckles. He always wanted to know how true the stories say about Chang personally.

"And what can I do to have your approval?" Chang said in a calmer voice which increased the tension.

"Pay me. Pay me to kill him. You won't even need to trouble yourself. The man IS worth something yes?" Grin held out a hand to Chang.

The boss man took a moment to himself to calculate the situation. Chang knew that he has a chance in beating the Reaper himself but in the end would prove more trouble than it was worth. Simply giving the man what he wanted would be more beneficial than having the Reaper as an enemy. Chang begrudgingly accepted Grin's hand and shook on agreement. "Done."

With a snap of his fingers the men sheathed their weapons. The intensity then ended allowing everyone a chance to breath. One of the gangsters passed a suitcase of money to the staff before making preparations to leave along with the rest.

"I like your style Grin. You are as ruthless in making deal as you are at what you do." Chang said. His shades were tilted low which showed Grin the seriousness of his being. "I'm quite impressed but you are to be careful though. I'm not the type to be fucked with. You might not be so lucky next time."

"I count on it." Grin replied, his eyes meeting Chang's. "Now if you'll excuse me now, I got a patient to check up on."

* * *

The next evening, the UG Pork truck parked itself in the back of the hospital for its usual pick up of corpses. The bodies filled the freezer fast ever since the attack of the Lagoon Company building. Only a notable few managed to survive to check out.

Just like the first time they've met, Sawyer was welcomed to the basement area by Grin who was in the middle of another experiment. Unlike the last time though, she did not have her voice to communicate which made her look sulkier.

"Nice to see you again, Sawyer." Grin said in his usual calm tone. "Did the antidepressants work?"

Sawyer nodded in approval. She was glad that it helped her cope with her emotional issues.

"That's all good to know. But before you start packing the bodies in, I got something that might help you."

Sawyer stood wondering what the Reaper means to give her. No one had ever given her anything. She also wondered what he meant by it helping her. To her surprise and delight, it was a new Ultravoice but was made into a choker so that it will not fall out by any means.

Sawyer wiped the tears out of her eyes due to happiness. She took off her face mask and goggles and enthusiastically wore her new choker. She had pale skin and a pretty face. A dark aura emits the air around her and eyes that never takes you out of its sight. Dead eyes. _Almost Like me._

"**Thank you…"** Sawyer said with delight. Grin had never seen anyone so happy in his life. **"You're not…such a bad…guy after-all."**

"You're not so bad yourself Fred-Fred." Grin bowed in reply before turning around and focused back the corpse he was working on. Before Grin could react however, the sound of a chainsaw roared at him at full speed and holding it was Sawyer with her eyes full of malice and hate.

* * *

A/N: After a long wait, the story continues at a new turn.

I am a big fan of **Just Another Soul **and **Amigodude**'s works and I write this as a tribute to their works most notably their stories on Sawyer the Cleaner. I hope that they enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing this.


	10. JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

The deafening roar of the chainsaw pervaded the room as Sawyer charged forward. Grin moved fast and barely dodged the attack cutting him slightly in the process. The chainsaw bit into the corpse behind him and spewed out chunks of flesh and blood all over the room. With a strong kick he managed to push the Chainsaw wielding maniac away and gain some room between them.

The happiness there was in Sawyer's eyes a few seconds ago immediately transformed into one of malice and animosity. Amidst the deafening sound conveyed by the chainsaw, Grin could hear the growling hate coming from Sawyer. Before he could think more on it or say anything, Sawyer revved up her chainsaw again and raised it for an attack.

With a flick of Grin's wrist, a Walther P22 that was concealed in his sleeve slid down to his hand and fired at the chainsaw wielding girl. He would have never expected to use his last resort weapon so early in a fight.

Sawyer countered the gunfire by raising the chainsaw's guide bar to act as a shield. The furious barrage of bullets did nothing to the thick metal shield but pushed Sawyer back. Sawyer took her time in the defensive right until the gun clicked itself dry before charging again.

Grin grabbed a nearby table and then threw it at his assailant. Sawyer effortlessly tore it in two filling the air with bits of wood and sawdust that filled the air. Grin took advantage of it and lunged at her with a cleaver but was blocked by the bulky saw. Sparks emitted all over the room between the two weapons pinning each other down. A Bowie knife was unbridled by Grin from his holster and slashed at Sawyer who hopped out of the way.

A furious display of sparks discharged as the two battled each other as both tried to overpower the other. Neither could be subdued due to the skills that both assailants used against each other. With Grin's speed and skill & Sawyer's strength and her absurdly large weapon there was no clear advantage.

Sawyer finally managed to land a heavy blow down at Grin. His weapons flew out of his hands and he was lying down on the ground. The young Gothic woman stood above and on him with a face full of rage and a raised chainsaw humming to the Reaper's impending doom.

"**Die" **Sawyer whispered before slashing down the chainsaw at Grin's head. To her disbelief, sparks were emitted by the saw instead of blood as it made contact. _What the fuck? Is he a fucking robot?_

The saw started slowly rose towards Sawyer. She struggled to keep it down but despite her best efforts she could not resist. The saw continued to be pushed up. Her opponent by then already rose from the ground and regained his footing and towered above her. Amongst the raining sparks, Sawyer was amazed to see that the thing that stopped her chainsaw was the Reaper's very hand. The glove he was wearing was shredded to bits thus revealing his metallic prosthetic.

While Sawyer struggled to keep her footing from her surreal adversary, her saw was steadily slowing down to a halt. Grin's grip held on tight and jammed the chainsaw from moving completely. Sawyer did her best to pull out but failed in all her efforts. As though fate would have it, while Sawyer was punching and kicking Grin, who remained unwavering, she tore off Grin's gasmask by chance.

Foul smelling gas then filled the air and obscured much of Sawyer's vision. Horror then engulfed her being the moment the smoke cleared and met the enemy's face. Her dread made her lower her guard and strength. The chainsaw was pulled off of her and then was punched hard in the face and fell to the ground.

"That'll be enough for today." Grin said as he tossed the chainsaw to the side. His voice made gruffer without the confines of the mask.

Sawyer was still petrified to the sight to even notice the pain by her cheek. She had heard stories of Grin 'the Reaper' being disfigured but not to the extent of revulsion. Sawyer had worked with corpses all her life and saw the worst conditions they've faced in death but never in her long line of work saw a person surviving such conditions.

The man had no nose on his face, only a large empty hole. The left cheek was engraved with a large stitched Chelsea Grin scar while his right cheek hardly had any flesh left at all. It only exposed the man's teeth on the side making a parody of a grin with pieces of flesh etched in. The rest of his face was kept together with more marks and stitches that hold the rest of the man together.

"Not a pretty sight now is it?" The dead man evilly smiled at her. "You might as well see the rest." Grin held his goggles by a hand and took it off. The left eye was an empty near perfect hole where the eye should be. It had a large gash that carved through it that added to the scars. The other revealed his single dark sunken eye that has seen its share of misfortune. "Now do you recognize your old friend?"

Sawyer's eyes grew wide at the realization that she also knew who the man in front of her was. Beyond the stitches, beyond the scars and the disfigurements, she recognized Grin for who he was before. She could never forget that one green eye of the man who saved her life. She remembered the man who gave her a chance for a new one.

"You remember?" Grin said. He saw through to what she was thinking.

Sawyer nodded in agreement. She got back to her feet slowly and managed to regain her composure. Her mind processed this new information that contradicted all that she knew of Grin before.

"**You're alive?" **Sawyer asked in disbelief.** "You are alive… after all this time…Viktor?"**

"Viktor." Grin scoffed at the name. His face then softened. "Haven't been called that for a long time. Viktor Harrow."

Grin silently turned about and picked up his mask from the corner. The dust was cleaned off before he wore it on and turned back to Sawyer. "But that man IS dead and this is all that was left of him. The name is Grin the Reaper now and nothing else."

He went to the fridge and took a few bottles of beer and opened it two. Grin motioned Sawyer to a couch nearby and placed a drink for her on a nearby table before being seated himself. Sawyer remained where she was and contemplated what she was going to do. The two of them said nothing as they looked across one another. Time was spent with the two staring at each other fixedly not knowing what to say. She simply walked to the side and picked up her chainsaw from the floor and seated herself by the couch in front of Grin.

There was complete silence between the two as they sat across each other. Thoughts swam in their heads due to the unexpected circumstances that brought them together after a long time being apart. Grin used the silence to take into account how much Sawyer had changed after all these years. She remained as small as petite as she was as a teen and due to her reputation as 'The Cleaner' it seems as though she has been doing well herself. Sawyer in the other hand was still in complete shock but kept her face blank.

"It is nice to see you again too Fred-Fred. I always knew that you were going places but never here." Grin started. He was very anxious to speak again to his friend and got bored of the silence. "I see you've put that thing to good use." Grin motioned to her chainsaw.

Sawyer fiddled with her fingers and looked at her chainsaw. _The Saw is Family. _It was the legacy of a clan of cutthroats, cannibals and murderers. But living with them was no fantasy. They were as brutal and abusive to their victims as they were to her. She would not have any part of it and so she left it all behind but she didn't do it alone.

Her eyes then met Grin's. The only friend she ever had was now a stranger to her.

"**I am…just quite…surprised…to see you…that's all." **Sawyer managed to say after a while in silence.

"Same here. Though I would not have expected a fight as an introduction" Grin joked. The two of them laughed at the absurdity of their meeting and how they DID almost kill each other. Grin then leaned back on his chair and remained with his own thoughts in silence.

"**What are…you doing?" **Sawyer noticed that Grin was looking at her intently. It made her feel uncomfortable but at the same time made her blush a little bit. No one ever looked at her twice and usually run the other way at the site of her.

"I am just recalling back when we first met." Grin chuckled. "You haven't changed one bit you know. That is, except for that scar."

"**Yes." **Sawyer stroked the scar under her neck. It was the most painful and traumatic experience of her life. It required 7 agonizing stitches to close up. She found and killed the man responsible by cutting him up to 7 pieces and leaving the head for last so that he could feel the pain she had to endure. **"I escaped…with my life…but lost…my voice."**

"Good." Grin responded with a raised bottle. He took note that Sawyer was feeling down after talking about her painful experience. He gestured for Sawyer's attention.

Grin held his gasmask and removed again albeit slowly. He showed his bare face to Sawyer.

"Don't be worried by your scars Fred-Fred." Grin stood and said with a sincere and gentle voice. "Embrace it. Take it as a sign that you have survived and lived."

"**So how…did you…survive?**" Sawyer asked. "**I thought…you were…dead."**

"Doesn't matter." Grin replied. He opened another beer and drank a long draught before continuing. "I just did. I seem to have a knack for not dying no matter how much I tried."

"**But you were…shot in the face. By a shotgun**."

"People survive through worse." Grin replied. He removed his torn gloves from his metal hand and moved the steel fingers about. "God knows I have."

She understood what he meant too in her own way, though it seems that her old friend had it worse. The horrors of how her family brutalized him and his folks to the brink of death and insanity she witnessed firsthand. Viktor endured all of it however which garnered her curiosity as well as her sympathy.

"**What about…you? What's…you're stor…y then**?" Sawyer changed the subject. "**I thought you…were dead aft…er we escaped…the ranch."**

Grin leaned back at the chair and lit himself a cigarette. It was another memory that he didn't thought off in a long while and didn't want to remember.

"It was 13 years ago now was it Fred-Fred? Do you remember?" Grin breathed out a stream of smoke before sitting up. "A hot summer's day in Texas. A road trip gone sour. The brutality and the abuse from your folks." Grin's knuckles crackled as he relived the memories. "They made me eat my eye, tortured the life outta me and then getting shot to sum it all up."

"I woke up in the hospital after god knows how long. They said that I was in the swamps for over a week before finding me still breathing. Had to cut off my arm after being infected among other things." Grin took another drag before continuing." When the cops came to your place it was all abandoned and everyone was gone. Just bones were all that's left. I feared that you were one of them which scared me. I left a changed man then sooner or later, here I am."

"**Hmmmm."** Sawyer pondered**. **She didn't know what to say after that. She felt a twinge of shame as her eyes were glued to the floor. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Her crying made it difficult to understand what she was saying. Understanding the words were made harder with the electrolarynx. **"I'm…sorry. For…everything. And after…all you…ve done…I abandoned…you."**

Grin approached Sawyer while she was tearing up. He knelt in front of her then gently lifted her head up to face his.

"You haven't changed a bit Fred-Fred. You're still a fucking crybaby." Grin humored to ease up on the drama. Instead of making Sawyer smile however, it only pissed her off a bit. It did stop her from crying however.

"You don't need to apologize for anything." Grin continued. "I did what I could and you did what you had to. I told you to run away didn't I?"

"**Yes**. **But you…still got…shot." **Sawyer reminded. Her Uncle Nubbins wasn't a good marksman as his twin but it wasn't rocket science to shoot one at point blank range.

"I wasn't a handsome teen to start with back then anyway." Grin shrugged. "In fact, I have you to thank for all the stuff that had happened."

"**Thank you?" **Sawyer asked in a confused tone. **"For what?"**

"For creating me." Grin stood and walked away. He came back carrying two large bottles of whiskey which he set onto the table.

"**What's this for?" **Sawyer asked.

"To celebrate." Grin replied. He poured some on a shot glass and offered it to Sawyer while he opened the other bottle just for himself. "It's not every day that you get to drink with dead friends. So let's start anew."

"**Cheers.**" Sawyer raised her glass with a smile and drank the burning liquor with with the Reaper.

They spent the entire evening drinking and talking. They laughed and amused each other with banters, stories and catching up on lost time. The hours were spent just hanging out reminded them of the few happy moments they had in their sad and violent lives. They were however strangers to each other after such a long time apart. Time seemed to have made monsters out of them both but it made no difference to them whatsoever.


End file.
